The Alliance
by Shiris Barton
Summary: AU - HxOC, DxOC, TxOC - three female spies find themselves involved in an international case with three men from the enemy organization. Can they complete their mission and find love at the same time? REVIEWS WELCOME!
1. the girls

Three bleary-eyed women walked into the living room and collapsed, two onto the ivory couch and one into the black leather chair.

"Doctor Jane, what could you possibly want at this hour of the morning?!" The one on the chair cried, draping her legs over the side of the chair arm and pushing back her light brown hair. She was tall, with striking blue eyes and straight brown hair that went a little below her shoulders.

"Yea! I mean, if you want us to perform well, we have to get our beauty sleep!" another tall, thin one sitting-no, lying- on the couch complained. This girl had dark brown hair that was almost black, many thin, long bangs, and chocolate brown eyes. Her hair had natural dark red streaks in it and flowed half way down her back.

The blonde haired girl who had her legs folded under the taller girl's legs said nothing. Snores could be heard from her end of the couch.

"I mean, look at this! Even Mayumi is asleep! The perfect soldier!" the chocolate-eyed girl said, gesturing to her couch mate.

The tall, blonde haired woman gazed at them fondly, a little smile on her aristocratic face. She still looked as though she belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine, even if there were a few extra wrinkles under eyes and around her lips.

/that's from smiling so much/, she reminded herself.

"Girls," she began, then stopped and chided herself. At 17, they were no longer her 'girls'. "Ladies, look alive. I need you to hear this." She paused, and then, "you have a new mission."

As expected, a chorus of outcries drowned her out.

"No way!"

"Are you serious?"

"We just got back!"

"Did I hear the word mission?" a sleepy voice said. The blonde girl, Mayumi, had opened her hazel eyes and flipped back her short, wavy, dark blonde hair.

"Yea, you sure did!" the blue-eyed girl on the chair exclaimed, now fully awake.

"Doctor Jane, I know it's a long shot, but do you think we could give the mission to someone else?" the chocolate-eyed one asked, eyes pleading.

Doctor Jane laughed. "No, Shiris, I can't. As you well know, there isn't anyone else. You girls are the last line."

"Yea, yea, I know. But it was worth a shot."

Truthfully, Jane didn't want to send them on this mission. She had a hunch there would be some other people there, and she did _not_ want the girls to interact with them. But it had to be done…

"Okay, here's the deal."

All three sat up, sort of, and looked at her. Once they had a mission, it was all business, no matter how much they did not want to partake in it.

"There is vice foreign minister in Russia that-"

"Oooo, Russia!" The pale brunette on the chair cried, and then clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Julie, please. As I was saying," Jane continued after glancing at her, " the foreign minister is conducting some shady business over there. He is next in line for the head position of the government, and will do anything to ensure his position. He might even want to get it a little bit earlier than scheduled."

"So he wants to kill the existing president?" Mayumi asked.

"Possibly. That is one of the things we need you to find out. We also believe he has a secret cache of weapons of mass destruction, which, obviously, is a national threat. And finally, he may know important information about the federation."

There was silence after her last statement.

The federation. Shiris shivered and balled her fists up. She knew firsthand what that organization could do. Her father, Ryan Barton, had been a part of it. He had ruthlessly killed many innocent people. When doctor Jane found her, she gratefully devoted her life to the Alliance, the sworn enemy of the Federation. Interaction between the two groups was nonexistent. Shiris, Mayumi, and Julie were the top agents of the Alliance, and Doctor Jane was the founder and leader.

Jane's voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"So, you three will go to a party that he is hosting tomorrow. Sorry about the short notice," she apologized, when the girls started, "but we just found out about it. Apparently, it is a very exclusive party. But of course, you girls have been invited."

They smiled. Jane was the best at forging invitations.

"Okay, now I want Mayumi to get a hold of the minister's assistant, Charkovky. Extract any information you can from him, and then dispose of him."

Mayumi nodded. She, at 17, had no qualms about killing a man involved in a criminal scheme. It was innocent people that she refused to kill.

"Julie, you are to find the main computer and get whatever information you can. I'm counting on you to crack the password."

"You got it," she said, and saluted smartly.

"Shiris, you will find a guard and take his or her clothes. Impersonate a guard and glean information from the real guards. If they are giving you trouble, use force. Since you are the best at disguises, I'm sure you can handle it."

"Definitely. Sounds like fun."

"Okay. Now, upstairs you will find a catalog. I want you to find a dress and bring down the picture to Lisa. She will get the dress fitted for you. It is the dress you are going to be wearing to the party. Then go and pack the essentials. After that, you are free to do as you please!" She smiled warmly and left the room. She also had an agenda.

Back in the living room, the three girls relaxed.

"This doesn't seem so hard," Mayumi commented, stretching out on the couch.

"Hey, give me some room!" Shiris muttered, putting her legs over Mayumi's.

"I wonder if we will have any free time on this mission?" Julie wondered out loud.

Shiris laughed. "Hoping to meet some handsome man?"

"You bet."

Although all laughed, inside they really did hope to met a handsome, charming man. A boyfriend wasn't exactly in their job description, and during missions was really the only time they got to go to parties. All three were finished school. Their intelligence, among other things, was the reason they were the top three spies of the alliance. Each had been recruited at a young age, each discovered by being in the right place at the right time.

Mayumi, the first, had grown up at the alliance, trained to be the perfect spy. Jane had explained to her long ago that she had found Mayumi abandoned near her house and had decided to rear her to be a spy. Jane didn't hide the fact that she had raised Mayumi more as a worker than as a daughter, but Mayumi still considered Jane her 'mother'. And Mayumi hadn't let Jane down. Over the years, her skills in marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and intelligence had increased to astronomical levels. She was the first official spy in the trio.

Jane recruited Julie 13 years later, after Julie cracked impossible codes and got information from one of the lower level bases of the Alliance. After a long and complicated trace, Jane traced Julie back to her house in New Jersey and approached her. Her parents were top research scientists, and Julie had always wanted to be a spy ever since she had received a pair of binoculars from her parents. Jane approached Julie and, even tho0ugh she was young, Julie agreed to join the alliance and became the second girl spy. She had to leave her parents, who couldn't know where she had gone, and it took her a few months to fully devote herself to the alliance. But once she passed her grieving stage, she found a whole new, exciting life ahead of her, and knew her parents would be proud of her.

Shiris was found 8 months later when Jane was at a party at the Barton's house, trying to get information on the federation. Shiris, at 14, was acting as a spy for her father. She was dressed in a blonde wig and lots of makeup and had pretended she was a guest. She went around to the top officials of the US government, using conversation to trip them up and make them unwittingly give her information. Jane was included in these officials, and had completely fallen for her act. Jane had discovered whom she really was when she ducked into the computer room only to find Shiris already there, typing away. Shiris, who had been forced to act as a spy numerous times against her will, didn't hesitate to join the Alliance, and became the third member of the new team. The day Shiris was to secretly join Jane, her house was torched and her father killed.

Each girl had no one but Jane and the other girls. Mayumi had never met her real parents, and Julie had her parents, but she was not allowed to contact her family. She had "disappeared" while walking home from school one day. Julie, obviously, had a hard time at first, but she had agreed to join the alliance. And once you joined, there was no going back.

"We better go get our dresses," Mayumi said, getting up and stretching. After four years of being together, the three were closer than sisters and best friends.

"Yea lets go. I hope there's a red dress," Shiris said as they headed up a flight of stairs. The place they lived in was huge, even though it was all under ground. The ground floor consisted of the offices for the employees stationed at the base, which consisted of inventors, scientists, computer technicians, and anybody else needed to plan a mission. The next level, which was where they were starting from, contained the living room, kitchen, rec. room, gym (which had a full track, weight room, and all the accessories), and a pool. At the third level were their rooms, each decorated in the respective girl's own preference. Finally, at the very top, were the vehicles. Cars, motorcycles, and a jet rested up there. Usually, a chauffeur drove the girls to their destination, but more and more they had been driving themselves, much to their delight.

Sure enough, on each bed lay a magazine chock full of dresses in every color of the rainbow.

At the end of much deliberation, Mayumi settled upon a dark green dress with spaghetti straps that went midway down her thighs. On the top of the dress was a design in a shimmer of sparkles that wound its way down the dress to the very bottom. 3-inch high heels and an emerald necklace completed the outfit.

Julie decided upon a shiny, pale blue strapless dress that was also short and had a design of red and green flowers on the top. She selected a thin silver bracelet and a blue diamond choker necklace to accompany it. Matching heels, only one inch, were also chosen.

Shiris picked a shimmering scarlet dress that went past her ankles and had a slit up one side. The thin straps went over her shoulders and then crisscrossed on her back, while the top of her dress plunged low. Red heels, also one inch, went with the dress.

"This is going to be awesome!" Julie exclaimed, twirling in the dress. They had gone back to their rooms and were now gathered in Shiris' room.

Shiris herself stood before the full-length mirror. /I like/ she thought, turning.

"Yea, I actually like this dress," Mayumi said. She usually hated to wear anything resembling a skirt or dress. It was tank tops and combat boots for her.

Shiris checked the seam of the dress where it flowed into the skirt part.

"Yep, its rippable."

The others checked as well. All their dresses had to have a rippable skirt so that in an emergency they weren't hindered by layers of clothes. That's why spandex also came in handy, especially under a tight dress.

"Some boy will definitely notice me in this!" Julie murmured, folding it up and placing it back in the box.

"Don't forget about the mission …shit!" Mayumi muttered while attempting to fold the dress.

Sighing, Shiris took it from her and folded it.

"Don't worry, we won't," she assured Mayumi, who didn't look so sure. Her hazel eyes were boring into theirs.

"We promise!" Julie cried. "Unless of course, he's really cute, and really nice…just kidding!" she giggled, as a pillow hit her in the face. " And you're gonna regret that!" she picked up a satin pillow with Japanese lettering on it and chucked it back at Mayumi. Unfortunately, she ducked and the pillow hit Shiris.

"Oops! Sorry, I di-" a pillow in the face stopped Julie in mid-sentence. A grinning Shiris met her view.

"Ooo, now you're both gonna get it…" Julie warned. Needless to say, the quarrel soon escalated into an all-out pillow fight.

Downstairs, all the way downstairs, Jane was busy getting everything prepared for the upcoming mission. By 10:00 pm, everything was ready. The gadgets were assembled, the itineraries were written, and the hotels were booked. They had a 3 am flight on their private jet, so she went upstairs to ask them to go to bed. She couldn't tell them to go to bed, since they were 17.

The girls heard a knock on the door and looked up form the TV. On it, Legolas was kicking the stuffing out of the goblins.

"Come in," they chorused, and Jane let herself in.

"Hey doctor!"

"Hi Jane,"

"Hello,"

"Hey girls, I just came by to tell you that you should go to sleep, since you have a 3 am flight tomorrow."

Julie fell off the bed.

"Wh…what!?" she managed, staggering to her feet. The other two had opened their eyes VERY wide.

"I'm afraid so. The party is at 5pm, and you need time to change after a 12 hour flight to Moscow."

"But, if the flight is at 3, that means we have to get up at…" Shiris trailed off.

"We might as well not go to bed," Mayumi suggested.

"Nice try. Come on, off to bed with you." Jane said, looking at Mayumi and Julie.

"Okay, okay, but let us just finish this? Please?" Julie put on her puppy-dog-face, and the other two pouted their lips.

Hesitating a moment, Jane finally agreed. "But the second that's over, you two hightail it outta here, okay?"

"Okay," they agreed, and went back to their movie. They had worked out and had swum laps all day, and the break was well deserved.

After she had gone, the three agreed to all sleep in Shiris' room.


	2. Arrival

Promptly at 2 am the next morning, Jane came in to wake up Mayumi. When she wasn't there, she went to Julies' room, and finally Shiris'. All three were sprawled on the bed, fast asleep. And form the looks of it, going to be really hard to wake up.

"Come on, rise and shine!" She said, turning on the light.

"Oohhh…" Julie groaned, and rolled over and went back to sleep.

"The light…too bright…" Mayumi muttered, pulling the covers up and over her face.

"I hate that saying…" Shiris mumbled, already under the covers.

"If someone walked in here right now, they would be appalled to find out that you three were the top spies." Jane said in a singsong voice.

"They could kiss my ass!" Julie cried, throwing back the covers. The other two followed right behind her. When it came to reputation, they were very touchy. It had taken years of hard work to get to where they were now.

"That's better. Now, get dressed and meet me in the basement."

Blinking and stumbling, Mayumi and Julie went back to their own rooms.

20 minutes later, they were all assembled in front of a table with lots of strange things on it.

"So these are our tools?" Shiris asked, a little more awake, and a good deal more awake than the other two.

"Yep! Here, let me show ya what I've got fer ya here," the man next to them said. His name was David, and he was in charge of the weapons department.

"Here's your walkie-talkie thingies," he held up a pea sized clear ball.

"Ya fit 'em in yer ears and talk normally. The other two will be able ta hear ya clear as the sun, and you'll be able ta hear them as well. Next," he picked up a watch. "is the HRD watch, which stands for heat-radiation-detonator watch. It's got three settings, one fer heat signatures, one fer detecting radiation, and one fer detonating the accompanying bombs," he held up a small oval with a red button in the middle.

"They sound cool," Mayumi said.

"I like the walkies," Julie said, picking it up.

"What about weapons?" Mayumi asked.

"We gat fer ya a classic PP7, a laser targeting ( ), and the bombs."

"Sounds good," Shiris said, picking up the laser targeting gun and pointing it at the opposite wall.

"Very good," she muttered, putting it down.

David rubbed his hands together. " And here's the coolest part," he said excitedly, picking up a clear plastic square about a centimeter in size.

"This is the newest development, called a Hound. It's a tracker that sticks to the trackee, and is invisible and irremovable until ya press a button, so they've got no idea its there even if they are looking for it!"

"Awesome!" Julie exclaimed, "That'll make everything so much easier!"

"Yea, definitely! What do we track it with?" Shiris asked

"This," David held up a small make up mirror, but when he opened it, one side was a mirror, the other a green screen.

"Very cool!" Mayumi agreed.

"Is everything all set?" Jane asked, walking into the room.

"Yep! Just finished up!" David said with a smile. At 6 foot 2, blonde haired, and blue eyes, he was a hunk. And he was in love with Jane. At age 33, he was three years older than her.

"Thanks, David," she said sincerely, resting her hand on his arm for a moment. He smiled even wider, and the girls giggled. They had learned long ago about this relationship, although Jane claimed nothing was going on.

Looking sternly at them, but with a hint of a smile, Jane ushered them out of the room and up to the hanger.

"Sean will fly to the hotel, okay?"

"Yep!"

"Sure!"

"Great!"

Sean, a little taller than Shiris' five foot 10, had black hair and blue eyes. He was married to one of the other employees at the base, unfortunately. All the girls had a crush on him.

"Hey Sean!" Julie exclaimed as he walked in.

"Hey ladies! Are you all set?"

They nodded.

"Okay, ill get her started up!" He stepped into the plane.

"Okay girls, your bags are loaded, and all your weapons. Itineraries are in your secret compartment in the bags, and money is-"

"In the front pocket, be sure to hide it when you get there," Julie finished with a smile.

Jane smiled and sighed. " Guess I've said that enough. But still, be careful, and ill talk to you."

"Okay, bye Jane!" Shiris said, hugging her.

The other two followed suit, waved, and got onto the plane.

The fear that always came to Jane when her girls were going on a mission reared its head. "Watch over them, please," she prayed to no one in particular.

Meanwhile, on the plane, the girls were getting into a heated game of 20 questions with Sean.

"Is it in here?"

"Can it fly?"

"Have I seen it?"

"yep, nope, and yep!" Julie said gleefully. Just two more questions, and—

"A steering wheel!" Mayumi shouted.

"Nooooo!!!!!!" Julie wailed.

"Ha! Gotcha!"

"Hey, I'm gonna sit this one out," Shiris said. She had a good book that she wanted to read, and went to the baggage area of the plane to get it. When she came back, she found the sitting area in shambles.

"Guys, are you building a fort in here?"

"Nope! We're rearranging the furniture! It needs a new look!" Julie corrected her, easily pushing the couch over.

Shaking her head, Shiris went to the cockpit.

"Hey," Sean greeted her as she walked in.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit up here and read? They're rearranging the furniture out there." She smiled helplessly. Giving her a knowing smile, he nodded.

"Sure!"

"Thanks," she said gratefully, and sat down in the co pilot's seat.

"Watcha reading?" He asked curiously.

"The Myth of Elven Forest," Shiris read the title. "It's really good so far."

"Sounds good."

Shiris settled back and started to fall into the wonders and secrets of the Elven Forest. Sean glanced at her.

/jeez, these kids are so young for this! Only 17, and charged with the fate of the country. I would not like to be them. How do they cope with it?/ he shook his head. All three seemed to adapt very well, and complemented each other. As a team, they were unbeatable. Mayumi was all about the mission. She would finish it to the last, no matter what. Julie was just wild. She always had a smile on, no matter what was happening. And Shiris was the glue. The other two were far apart personality wise, but Shiris was right in the middle. She could be wild or deadly serious. Oftentimes, she had to make the decisions.

"Are you nervous?" He asked her.

She glanced up, startled. She had never heard him this serious before.

"Yea, a little, " she admitted. " but I'm always nervous, so it isn't a big deal. Once I get started, its fine."

"How do you do change yourself into so many different people? I mean, you seem to be able to take on any disguise."

She laughed. " Well, its not that hard. I just have a god imagination, I guess. That, and I know how to trip people up in a conversation. They don't know how much they told me at the end."

" I see. Well, you three do an excellent job."

"Thanks," she said, a little curious. He had never said that before.

Two hours later, Sean looked over and saw Shiris fast asleep, book finished. Looking behind him, he saw the sitting area completely rearranged and two forms asleep on the floor.

He chuckled.


	3. THE BOYS!

With a half hour to go, the girls finally woke up.

"Are we there?" Mayumi asked sleepily.

"Almost!" Sean called back.

"Mmm…I guess I better get my stuff…" Shiris wandered to the back.

Once all their bags had been unloaded, the girls looked around. It was Russia. The salt and peppershaker roofs were visible, since they were in Moscow, and all around them people were wearing fur coats and hats. Standing outside in the middle of winter in Russia with just sweaters on was not a good idea.

"Quick! Quick! Where's my coat?" Julie exclaimed, rummaging around in her bag. "Ah, there! Much better!" She snuggled up into an enormous tan faux fur coat that fell to mid-calf.

Shiris and Mayumi were also donning coats, Mayumi a white and tan one, and Shiris a black and tan one.

"Okay, here's your car number. Good luck girls!" Sean said, and gave a wave. Then he went back into the plane.

Waving back, the girls took their luggage and headed for the car park.

"A Volvo!?" Julie yelled when they got to their number.

"Someone is going to pay!!"

"Aw, man! I was hoping for a jaguar!" Shiris complained.

"This is the best the company could come up with?" Mayumi grumbled, throwing her stuff into the back next to the other's luggage.

"I'm driving," Shiris said, getting behind the wheel.

"Shotgun!" Julie shouted, but ran into a closed door as Mayumi grinned at her form inside.

"Mayumi!"

"Sorry, first come first serve"

"Argh!" Julie muttered and climbed into the back.

Shiris started the car and rolled out of the parking lot.

"So where are we staying?" Julie asked.

"The Ritz," 'Mayumi answered, looking on a map. " You'd think they would give us directions, but noooo…"

"It should be near here," Shiris contributed, but that didn't help.

"Where the hell is it?" Mayumi muttered, whipping the map every which way.

"Here, let me look," Julie said, grabbing the map.

"No, I got it"

"I'll help!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"  
"Yes!"

"Shut up!"

They stopped. "Its right here," Shiris said, pointing down the street.

"So that why they didn't give us directions," Mayumi mumbled, sliding back into her seat. "It was right down the street."

Shiris pulled in and parked the car. With their luggage rolling behind them, they checked in and went up to their two-bedroom room. Since they were only staying there for one night, it didn't need to be fancy.

"Okay, lets get changed. We have… 1 hour until starts," Mayumi commanded. The other two nodded and pulled out their chosen dresses. Each was very excited and a little wary, as with every mission.

/I hope everything goes okay! / Julie thought.

/this shouldn't be too hard. I know exactly what I have to do/ Mayumi thought.

/this should be pretty basic; nothing should go wrong/ Shiris told herself as she slipped into the dress.

After forty-five, the three girls were made up and ready to go.

Mayumi had decided to put her hair up, since it would be out of the way. Julie's was up as well, with many ringlets hanging down. Shiris' was fluffed up and volumized, although the second she stepped outside she knew it would go flat again.

"Okay, before we leave, lets go over the plan," Mayumi said, picking up her dark green purse.

"First, equipment. Here's your ear thingies," Shiris said, handing them out. The girls put them in their ears.

"Once I press this button," Julie said, holding up what looked like a lipstick container, "they will be activated. Just so we don't get overwhelmed with noise, ill turn it on only when we get separated."

"Here are the trackers. I'll hold the tracking device." Mayumi gave them each a slip of paper, which they slid into the inner pocket of their purses.

"And here are PPK's. The laser targeting we'll leave in the car, since they wont fit nicely into a purse." Mayumi handed each a gun, which they added to the already full purses.

"Everyone got spandex?" Shiris checked, and then picked up a thin hunting knife form the weapons bag. "My dress is long enough that I can hide this." She wrapped a thin band around her upper thigh that had a slit in it. She slid the knife into the slit and lowered her dress.

"Okay, all set!"

"Lets roll!" Julie cried, opening the door.

Downstairs, everyone in the lobby gasped as the three girls entered the room. The goddesses of earth, water and fire descended into the room in shimmering colors. Every single man stared.

Jeez, Julie thought, they could at least wipe their mouths, but she actually liked the attention. If she were to die on this mission, at least she'd know she looked good.

"I'm driving this time," Julie stated, opening the driver's side door. Shiris ran to the other side as best she could ion her heels, leaving Mayumi to grumpily climb into the back.

"Okay, now we do need directions. His place is a half an hour outta the way," Mayumi commented, leaning back in her seat. She didn't have to worry about manning the maps, and only giggled when Shiris tried to find out where they were starting form.

"Thank god we can read Russian, otherwise this would be a lot harder," Shiris muttered. "Whoa! Julie, slow down!"

"Sorry! It wasn't my fault!"

"No, I guess it wasn't your fault that you ran a red light!"

"Yea, Julie, I'd like to get there in one piece!" Mayumi called, having been jerked to the side.

"Sorry, sorry! Shiris do you I take a right up here?"

"Uh…yea! No, wait…" a pause as the map ruffled.

"Hurry…"

"Wait, what street are we on?"

"Shiris…"

"Oh! Okay, turn…"

"Shiris"

"Hold on,"

"Shiris! Which way!"

"Left! Go left!"

Julie slammed the wheel to the left and Mayumi flew to the other side.

"Ouch! Julie!"

"Its not my fault that I had turn at the last second!"

"Okay, okay, it was my fault." Shiris admitted. "But at least our coats cushion us a little?"

After many more turns and one miss, they turned onto the street. Because of their dingy car, they were going to walk up to the mansion.

"Right, now remember, we slip away one by one, me first, then Julie, then Shiris." Mayumi whispered.

"Yes, yes, we know," the other two chorused, rolling their eyes.

Julie stopped the car a little ways from the mansion. As they stepped out it was hard not to gasp.

The mansion took up at lest 500 acres, with 100 of it being the actual mansion. It was four stories high with three wings. The drive way formed a circle in front of the house, and many limos were waiting outside. A fountain with three levels decorated the middle of the circle with rows of flowers encircling it. The metal gates to the driveway extended high above the girls heads as they approached them, and had spikes on the top.

"Wow…" Julie murmured. The three progressed up the long driveway, noting every so often the guards that patrolled the grounds.

"Klobbs and 57s," Mayumi whispered, mentally recording the type of gun each guard was carrying. Julie recorded the number of guards, and Shiris remembered where each of their routes was. Just in case.

Approaching the massive front doors that had 10 steps leading up to it, the girls tried to blend in. It would seem strange if they arrived on foot, so when a large group stepped out of limo, they fell into step behind them.

"May I have your tickets please?" The butler asked pleasantly.

"Certainly!" Shiris said brightly, and handed him their ticket. The butler nodded them in, all three smiling gaily.

Inside, they were overwhelmed with gold. Everything was made out of gold. The banister they held on to to descend to the party, the tables, the dinning table, the plates full of food, everything was gold.

"This is wonderful!" Shiris whispered, soaking in the sight. It wasn't often that they got to go to such a fancy place.

"I am definitely going to be a minister as my next job," Julie muttered, eyes wide.

Mayumi was busy scooping out the place for her target. She had looked at a picture of him just before they went in.

"Hey, do you think we can hang out a little before we start?" Shiris whispered, voice hardly above a murmur.

"Yea! We can spare half an hour!" Julie replied in the same whisper.

"I don't think so," Mayumi replied, "We need to-"

"Welcome!" A deep, rumbling voice interrupted Mayumi.

"Welcome to the party! And who might you lovely ladies be?"

They all looked up to see a very large, very round man with a beard standing in front of them and a jolly smile on his face.

"Vice foreign minister! What an honor it is to meet you!" Shiris gushed, hoping he wouldn't come any closer. He looked like he wanted to eat them.

"Ah, thank you! I assure you, the pleasure is all mine. And what might your names be?"

His English had a thick Russian accent. Too make her seem even more like she fit in, Shiris began speaking in Russian. The others let her handle it, since she was the one who could melt into any crowd like she belonged there.

"I am Kilinda, this is Ryoko," she said, pointing to Mayumi, "and this is Juliet."

"Pleased to meet you. May I-"

A tall, thin man in a black tuxedo came up to him and whispered something in his ear and then left.

While he was talking to the minister, Shiris turned to Julie.

"Give me a tracker!" she whispered, holding out her hand behind her.

Julie fished around discreetly in her purse and produced the slip of paper. Shiris palmed it as the minister turned back to them.

The minister's face had become stern and eyes black. "Ladies, you will have to excuse me. Business calls,"

"It was lovely to meet you!" Shiris said sweetly, batting her eyes and holding out her hand. As she had expected, he took her fingertips in his hand and kissed her them.

"You as well," he replied, giving them a last look over, sighing, and leaving. Unwittingly leading them to wherever he went.

"Ugh!" Julie muttered as soon as he was lost in the crowd.

"Wow. He is a pervert," Shiris agreed.

"Who was that man? And what did the minister have to do?" Mayumi wondered.

"I don't know, but I'm sure we can find out later. He's got a tracker stuck on his hand, and it ain't coming' off soon," Shiris replied, wiping her hand on her dress.

"Well, at least he made one good suggestion. Lets eat!" Julie exclaimed, heading for the buffet table. Mayumi looked sternly at Shiris.

"Well, we should eat before we go. I mean, it might take us awhile, and…" Shiris said hesitantly.

"Fine, we'll get something to eat." Mayumi sighed, following Shiris.

The buffet table was a feast. Foods from every country were heaped in piles. Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, rice, soups, and pies covered the table. Shiris picked up a gold plate.

"Hey, wait a minute! These aren't real gold!" She said quietly to Mayumi.

Since they had been trained to notice little details like that, Mayumi could see as well the signs of gold plating.

"Hmm…now why would he do that? Does he need money?" She wondered, more to herself than anyone.

Julie didn't care at all about the plates. She heaped a pile of food on the dish while the other two chose discreet amounts of food that could be eaten quickly. Julie, however, finished before both of them.

"Yum! I'm gonna get seconds!"

Mayumi grabbed her dress.

"I don't think so. Now we focus."

"Fine, fine," Julie grumbled, snatching her dress away.

Mayumi scanned the crowd.

"How am I supposed to find this guy? He could be anywhere!" she said in frustration.

"We'll help you. I'll turn on the talkies, and we'll split up." Julie suggested, reaching into her purse. A second later, they were bombarded with noise.

"Yep, I think they're working," Shiris said, rubbing her ear.

"Yea, I definitely thought you were right next to me when you said that!" Mayumi agreed, looking pleased. Her part of the mission would go much faster if the other two helped.

"It'll take the right, Julie, you take the center, and Shiris, and you take the left."

They nodded and separated.

Mayumi weaved her way thought the crowd, stopping every so often when she saw a possible target. Then she saw a very handsome man, about her age, leaning against the wall. His long, spiky bangs covered one emerald eye.

/hmmm…not so bad, but I don't have time right now…/

She went by him without a word.

Julie wasn't having any luck either. How she wished she could dance with someone! Watching the many couples waltzing on the dance floor, she suddenly saw another man, her age, standing a little off to the side. He had a head of thick, tousled brown hair and icy blue eyes. His face was set in a grimace, and he didn't move. /wow, he looks handsome but mean/ she thought, not daring to go near him. He might bite her head off.

Shiris sighed as her latest target turned around. It wasn't him. She went up to the wall and leaned against it.

"Hey, what's wrong?" a voice asked to her right. Startled, she straightened and looked. A boy her age with a long braid down his back and thick bangs greeted her vision. His face looked ready to split in two, he was smiling so wide, and bright blue eyes stared at her.

"Oh! Sorry, you startled me. Nothing is wrong!" She managed, smiling.

"What's wrong?" came a voice inside her head. It was Mayumi. She had forgotten the talkies were on!

"But thank you for asking," she added, hoping Mayumi would get the point.

Instead, Julie joined her. "Whom are you talking to? Julie asked excitedly.

"She can't answer you," Mayumi replied.

"Maybe she can! Its worth asking!" Julie retorted, miffed.

"Be quiet! She can hear us!"

"I'm not the one talking!"

Shiris was going to strangle them. It was very disconcerting having a conversation go on inside your head and trying to talk to someone at the same time.

"It was nice meeting you!" Shiris told the boy, and left. It was risky to talk to anyone, let alone a handsome boy her age. She could get distracted.

"Will you guys shut up?" she almost yelled after she went into the crowd.

"That's it. We are turning these things off as soon as we find him," Mayumi muttered as Julie starting making cheeping noises.

"I agree!" Shiris said.

A few minutes passed. Then, "I've got him!"

"Mayumi? Was that you?" Shiris asked hopefully.

"Yea! Now how do I get him alone?"

"Entice him!" Julie cried. A few people around her jumped, and the stoic boy looked in her direction. She immediately lowered her voice and turned the other way.

"Use your looks, lure him to a room, and whamo! He won't know what hit him, literally."

"Sounds good," Shiris concurred.

"Okay, I'm going for him. What are you two going to do?"

"I'll go out in a few minutes for the computers." Julie said.

"Then ill go get info," Shiris replied.

"Good. See ya," Mayumi said.

"Bye! Good luck!" Julie said.

"Be careful," Shiris warned.

Mayumi smiled and walked up to the man. Julie switched off the earphones.

"Hello," she said seductively. She was a little nervous. Shiris was usually the one doing this sort of thing!

"Why hello, who might you be?" the man asked in Russian. He was a little taller then Mayumi's 5 foot 4, with black hair and gray eyes. He looked about 42, and a little out of shape, but nothing like the minister. All in all, he wasn't that bad, which made Mayumi's job a lot easier.

"I'm Ryoko, and you are Charkovky, am I right?" she replied in Russian. Her accent was perfect.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"I've seen you on TV many times. May I just say," she put her hand on his arm, "it is an honor and a thrill to finally meet you."

He smiled widely. Unmarried, he was always looking for excitement.

"Thank you, you are too kind. Would you care to dance?"

She thought quickly. Dancing would take too long and draw her into a conversation, which she might botch up. Easier to go for double or nothing and depended on male behavior.

"I was thinking we could go some place…quieter?" She looked up at him form under thick eyelashes, having moved closer to him. His eyes sparkled. "That sounds wonderful. Follow me, I know just the place."

Men, Mayumi thought, are so easy. She followed him out of the hall and into corridor, trying not to laugh.


	4. Hiiro, meet Mayumi Duo, meet Julie

Julie waited another 10 minutes, and then hightailed it out of there. She went to the ladies room and turned on her watch to the map setting. It gave her a full blueprint of the mansion, along with a red dot for where the main control room was. Waiting until the hallway emptied, she ducked down the hall and turned right. Turning on the heat signature mode as well, she was able to see where the guards were stationed. Only once did one surprise her, and that was because she had just knocked another one out.

"Who are you?" he demanded, and drew his gun when he saw her standing over the unconscious guard.

"Oh, help, this man has been injured! I lost my way to the bathroom and I came across him…" she whimpered in a high-pitched voice. The guard rushed over, completely believing her act.

"And he was like this?" he asked, putting his gun away.

"Oh, yes!"

"Wait here, ill call for back up,"

His hand went to his waist and he turned around.

"I don't think so," she muttered, and hit him in the back of the neck, hard. He went down without a sound.

"Gotcha!"

Looking both ways and checking her watch, she made it to the computer room. According to her watch, there were three guards. Also, the door was locked with a code access.

Out of her purse she took an eyes shadow case and fit it up against the code board. Flipping open the top, she pressed a red button where the eyes shadow should have been. In place of the brush, a screen was visible. Quickly, four numbers appeared on the screen.

"That was sooo easy," she whispered, and dialed in the four numbers.

Shiris went to the bathroom 10 minutes after Julie had left, or at least when she was supposed to have left.

Turning on her watch, she found the nearest guard. Se prayed it was a female so that she wouldn't have to wear a man's uniform. Fortunately, it was a woman she found when she turned the corner.

"Excuse me, but you cant be down here," the woman said immediately. Noting the gun hanging from a strap on her shoulder, Shiris said, "oh, I'm sorry, which way to the bathroom?"

"It's straight down this hall and to the right," the woman replied, pointing and walking over. When she was within reach, Shiris did a left to right spin kick followed by a punch in the stomach. The woman dropped immediately and Shiris dragged her into a closet. Assured that the woman wouldn't be waking up for a while, she stepped back out in her new uniform. The sleeves and skirt were a little short, but other than that it was fine. The shirt was a white blouse with a fitted dark green button down jacket with a gold trim. The skirt was dark green as well, with green flats. Very practical shoes for a guard.

Shiris left the dress balled up in a corner of the closet and slung the gun over her shoulder. As a last touch, she took a hair band form her purse and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. Then she glanced at her watch and headed for the mess hall. Surely there would be guards there.

Mayumi and Charkovky wound their way around the halls for a little before coming to a closed door. By this time, Charkovky had tried to feel her up numerous times, once tired to kiss her, and once tried to grab her butt. Mayumi was ready to shoot him, mission or not.

"Here we are, my lovely," he murmured, as they stepped into a large room with a humongous bed in the center. Mayumi shuddered and waited until he was in the middle of the room before taking her gun out of her purse.

"Why don't you come over he-" Charkovky began, and then turned.

"Don't move," Mayumi warned. At the same time the door on the other side of the room burst open.

"Don't move! Lady, leave the-!" the man that Julie had seen was standing opposite Mayumi, holding a gun. He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Mayumi, also holding a gun. He had thought she was a civilian! Who the hell was she?

"Who are you?" Mayumi demanded, pointing the gun at him, and then back at Charkovky, unsure of whom was more dangerous. Who the hell could he be? The boy couldn't be older than 18, with messy, un-kept hair that obscured his bright blue eyes. He was in good shape, lean and trim.

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, equally confused. How could someone else have known about the party?

"Put your gun down!" Mayumi ordered. The boy simply glared at her.

"You first," he hissed.

"No way," she retorted.

"Who are you?" Charkovky whimpered, reduced to a scared little boy. Having one gun trained on you was bad enough, but to have two guns held by two very unstable people was 10 times worse.

"I need information, right now. Come with me," the boy ordered.

"No, come with me. I need the information." Mayumi countered.

"I'm not telling wither of you anything!" Charkovky bravely shouted.

"Tell me about the Federation!"

"Tell me about the Alliance!" the two assassins shouted at the same time.

"What do you need to know about the federation?" the boy demanded.

"What do you need to know about the alliance?" Mayumi responded, very curious. Was this boy form the federation? If so, why were they working for the same cause?

"I'm not telling you anything!" Charkovky repeated, shaking.

"Fine," the boy said, and shot him once in the head.

"What the HELL did you do that for?" Mayumi almost shrieked, advancing on the man with her gun. "I needed him!"

"He wasn't talking. And I'm sure you can tell me all I need to know about the alliance."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. But clearly, you know a lot about the federation. So start talking."

"No."

"I will shoot you."

"I'll shoot you too."

"I'll shoot you and live."

Why wasn't she just shooting the boy? She wondered. He knew who she was; he could ruin her. But she could also ruin him. So why wasn't he shooting her? He obviously had no qualms about shooting people.

"Okay. We obviously came here for the same thing, so there's no point in killing each other. Lets just leave and go our separate ways, since I cant get any information now." Mayumi said, backing out of the door while keeping her gun trained on the boy. He didn't blink but started backing out of his door as well.

"Okay. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." She stepped swiftly to the left of the door and out of sight. Lowering the gun, she leaned against the wall. She had to get out of there. His body would be discovered soon. But who was that boy? He was a spy, obviously. And most likely for the federation. But he was too cute to be in the federation!

Julie stood in the doorway as the door whisked opened. Three guns were trained on her a second. Unperturbed, she said, " hello! Can you all help me with something?" They stared at her, unsure of what to do. "Can you tell me which is the main computer? The minister said it was fine for me to know." She didn't expect an answer, but one of the guards glanced to his left, at a lone computer along the right wall. Following his gaze, she found the computer he was looking at.

"Thank you," she muttered, and pulled out her gun. She managed to jump into the room, shut the soundproof door, and shoot one guard before the others noticed what had happened. Rolling away form the shots, she hid behind a desk. Peering over the top, she saw one guard go for his radio. Quickly focusing, she shot it out of his hand and then shot him in the chest. Ducking back down as another stream of fire shot over her, she rolled to the right side of the desk and hit the remaining guard.

Standing and straitening her dress and smoothing her hair, she walked over to the computer. On the screen a little box came up.

"Okay, so we need a password. His date of birth? Nope. Name of wife? Nope."

Suddenly she cocked an ear. Hearing footsteps outside the room, she dashed over to stand beside the door. She heard someone fiddling with the lock outside, and then the door slid open. As the man walked in, she chopped him in the neck. She was surprised when he only stumbled and didn't fall; that chop would have felled any normal man.

She went for a second punch, but the boy spun around and blocked it, trapping her hands in his.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise. It was the boy that Shiris had seen at the party. His braid was over his shoulder and his bangs were blown to the side, uncovering pale blue eyes. He let go of her hands when he saw the girl standing before him. He didn't think he'd ever forget her. _Wow! That's the second amazingly hot girl I've seen tonight!_ He mentally congratulated himself.

"What are you doing here?" she answered, surprised at how cute he was. And how nice he was. He didn't sound like he wanted to kill her at all. In fact, he seemed like he was sneaking around as well. In his hand was a code cracker.

He glanced over at the computers.

Shit! She had forgotten to turn the screen off! He could clearly see the password box and the PASSWORD DENIED signs.

"Hey, what are you trying to do? Crack the code?" he asked, going over. She said nothing, afraid he would report her. But he was so cute…

"No! Of course not."

"Well, that's too bad."

"Why?"

"'Cause that's what I was gonna do. It would've been nice to have company, but…" he shrugged and aimed his gun at her.

"Okay, I give in," she said quickly with a little nervous laugh, "I was trying to crack it."

He put down the gun with a smile.

"Thought so. Nice work on the guards, by the way."

"Thanks!"

"This would go a lot faster if we worked together," the boy suggested. Julie was fine with that. "Sure!" she replied, smiling widely. Maybe should would meet a nice, handsome, charming boy on this mission!

"So, would you like to type?"

"Sure!" She went and sat down.

"Did you try birthdays and names?"

"Yep. No go."

"Hmm…how about combinations of the two?"

She started typing.


	5. Trowa, meet Shiris

Meanwhile, Shiris had made her way to the final corridor before the Mess hall. Apparently, it was also where the guards slept, although no one was in their rooms because of the party. Security was on maximum.

She decided to use the next guard she found and, if necessary, duck into one of the rooms.

The first person she came across was a handsome boy about her age with short brown hair and long, spiky bangs. He was taller than she and had a lean, lithe build (in her opinion). Emerald eyes meet chocolate brown as she walked up to him.

"Hi!" she greeted, stopping him in the hallway.

"Hello," he replied, and gave a small smile.

"Um…I hate to bother you, but would you mind showing me the way to my room? I'm really new here, and I kinda lost my way." She gave an embarrassed laugh and shrugged.

The boy looked at her intently. "Actually, I'm new here too. Ill do my best, but I cant promise anything."

"Oh, okay…" she probably wouldn't get any information out of him, but now that he was walking with her, and he was cute…

"So, do you know what they do down here? I mean, besides having parties and stuff."

She began to get nervous when he looked at her even more intently. Was it something she said?

"No, do you? They must do something beside politics," he said suddenly.

/Hey, wait a minute, does he know something? No new guard would say that; he could loose his job/.

"No…" she replied warily. He must know something. "Have you met the minister?"

"No, have you?"

What was he, a mimic?

"Yes, only for a little bit."

"What did he say to you?"

Was he trying to pump her for information? Or was he an internal spy, set up to find people like her?

"Oh, nothing much. Oh, here's my room!" she exclaimed, picking one at random. She pressed the button next to the door and thanked God it wasn't locked.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him. It was time to get forceful.

He stared at her and she began to melt into his gaze. Why did she have to beat him up?

"Sure," he finally said, and walked in. Before the door was all the way shut he had her pinned up against the wall and held her by the throat.

"What do you know about the minister?" he demanded.

"What?" she wheezed, not expecting this. But she could definitely handle it…

She glared at him, then brought her arm up and over his, slammed it out of the way, and kicked him in the stomach.

She grabbed him and shoved him up against the wall, holding his throat and aiming her gun at him.

"What do _you_ know about the minister? What is going on down here?" she hissed.

He said nothing.

"Tell me what I need to know, and you can go free," she muttered. " I don't want to shoot you." She really didn't.

Who did she think he was? The boy thought. And who was she? He had never seen anyone more beautiful in his life.

"No" he stated.

"Yes!"

"No…" he ducked and she shot the wall right where his head had been. He came up and punched her in the stomach. She doubled over and he grabbed her gun, immediately aiming it at her.

"You tell me what I need to know, and _you_ can go free. I don't want to shoot you."

She was still bent over, but not because she was hurt. She was getting out her knife, which she had slipped into her skirt pocket.

"Big mistake…" she whispered, and spun to the side and behind him, holding the knife up to his throat.

"Now for the last time…what do you know about the minister and his activities? And what about the federation?"

He started.

"What makes you think I know anything about that?"

"Well, lets see. You weren't knocked out by my punches, you demanded information before I said anything, and you were very startled when I mentioned the word federation. So…" she pressed the knife down even harder. "Tell me what you know. Now."

He didn't know what to do. She was holding him at knifepoint, and for some strange reason, he was definitely noticing how close she was to him. She pretty much had him in a hug form behind, and it was very disconcerting.

On her part, he was making her very nervous as well. She actually wanted to get to know this guy, not kill him.

"Look, we obviously came here for the same thing," he ventured. When she said nothing, he continued. "It would be logical to work together. We could get the job done faster."

She considered it. She was still wary of him, but knew he was there for the same purpose she was. She let go and stepped back.

"Okay."

He rubbed his neck and turned around. She loved those eyes of his.

"My name is Trowa Barton. I work for the federation. Who are you?"

The federation. He worked for the federation. How could anyone like him work for the federation? Her eyes hardened, but she forced herself to remind herself that not everyone who worked for the federation was like her father. Heck, she didn't even know what the federation did.

"My name is Shiris"

"Do you have a last name?"

She hesitated. He would definitely recognize it.

"Nasko. Its Nasko."

He stepped back. " Nasko? As in-"

"Yes. The federation's Nasko."

"So you work for the federation too?" He sounded a little hopeful.

"No!" she exclaimed vehemently. "No! I work for the alliance!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it…" he apologized. So, she was the missing daughter. And she worked for the alliance. The alliance was his sworn enemy, and obviously the federation was her sworn enemy…in short, this sucks, he thought. We're not supposed to let each other go alive, but…

"So what do we do now?" Shiris asked when he didn't say anything. He glanced up at her. What he wanted to say was not appropriate. So, "I think we ought to leave. I have-"

"SHIRIS!!!!!!!!!"

"OUCH! JULIE, BE QUIET!!" Shiris shouted, holding her ears. Trowa stared at her. Was she a skitzo?

"Shiris, sorry, but it soooo great! I met this guy-"

"You WHAT?" Shiris was shocked. It couldn't be a coincidence…

"Yea! He's so cute, and so nice…his name is Duo, and-"

"Wait a minute."

"Who is that?" Trowa asked, walking over. He had used talkies like that before and realized what was going on.

"Oh, its-"

"Who's that with you?" Julie asked slyly. "Is that the guard you're supposed to be beating up? Or are you-"

"JULIE!"

Trowa was close enough to hear the conversation because Julie was talking so loud and Shiris was mortified.

"Shiris, you bad girl!"

Trowa smiled.

Shiris blushed.

"Julie, stop it. We have to regroup. Now. Where's Mayumi?"


	6. Waltz cut short

Mayumi walked down the corridor towards the entrance to the party. She had to get hold of the others, but Julie had the button thing…

Turning a corner, she ran flat into someone, attempted to keep her balance, and found it was no use. He landed on top pf her. Looking up, she gasped.

"You again!"

He got up off of her and glared.

"You're following me," he stated, not offering to help her up. "Who are you? Do you work for the alliance?"

"Look, buddy, I'm not saying anything. Goodbye." They both turned away and began walking the same way.

"Okay, look. You find some other way, cause I'm libel to shoot you by accident I'm so pissed off at you right now," Mayumi growled.

The boy continued walking.

"Okay, fine, Mr. I don't talk, have it your way."

"It's Hiiro."

"What?"

"My name. Its Hiiro," the boy said in a monotone voice.

"Oh…" Mayumi said in a softer voice. Maybe he wasn't all ice…

"I'm Mayumi. Nice to meet you." He looked at her with icy eyes.

She gave a little smile and turned away.

"SHIRIS!!!!!!!!!"

"Yah! What was that?" she muttered, holding her head. Oh, it was the talkies.

"What is it?" the boy asked, having heard the cry.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" They both heard as Shiris screamed. Then more shouting, and then, "who's that with you?" They heard a man's voice in the background.

"Shiris meet someone? She'd supposed to be…shit. What did she do."

"I didn't do anything!" Shiris answered.

Mayumi started-she'd forgotten they could hear her.

"He was the guard I picked to beat up, but he had picked me to beat up! It was a weird coincidence. But Mayumi," she lowered her voice, " they work for the federation,"

Mayumi 's eyes narrowed and she looked at the Hiiro.

"You work for the federation?" she muttered, backing away.

"Yes."

"Hey, did you hook up with someone too? Cause so did Julie…" Shiris said in the background. So Julie had met someone too?

"She must mean Duo. And the other girl must be with Trowa," Hiiro mused.

"What coincidence," Shiris said quietly in Mayumi's head. Yea, what a coincidence.

"Look, we have to meet up. Meet us back at the buffet table, okay?" Mayumi said to both.

"Sure," Shiris replied.

"And Julie, did you crack the password?"

"Yep! It was soooooooo easy!"

"Great. Lets go."

"Okay!" Julie said happily.

Shiris and Trowa left the room, still dressed as guards.

"I have to change back into my dress, so I don't raise attention," she said, heading for the closet.

"Yea, I have to change too. Ill meet you back here in five minutes," and he left. Shiris headed to the closet. She didn't know what to think. He worked for the federation, they couldn't be seen together, they weren't even supposed to be talking, and yet she was attracted to him. Great.

She opened the door and the woman groaned. Shiris kicked her and began changing.

Five minutes later she walked back to their meeting place, fixing her ruby necklace so it fit loosely around her neck. Trowa was already there, dressed handsomely in a suit and tie. Forget the federation, she wanted him.

Trowa turned when he heard heels against the floor, and thanked god he was leaning against a wall. When Shiris came back dressed in the tight, shimmering red dress with that flattering high slit up the side that showed her long and shapely legs, he almost fell.

"All set?" she said cheerily. She had seen the look on his face, and was pleased.

"That's a nice suit," she commented, looking him up and down.

"That is a gorgeous dress," he replied, gazing at her. She smiled and started walking, Trowa next to her.

Julie and Duo started back for the buffet table, which both thought was a great idea. They were starving!

"So you work for the federation?" Julie asked, not bothered at all if he did. She personally had never understood why the two organizations were enemies if they were so alike. Except in the case of Shiris, she couldn't understand why anyone of the alliance members hated the federation.

"Yea, why? Whom do you work for?" Duo replied, unperturbed.

"I work for the alliance, sworn enemy of the federation."

Duo thought about her answer for a minute. Then, "well, I don't mind. I personally don't see why we are sworn enemies. I mean, we obviously have the same agenda," Duo said calmly.

"Yes! I feel that way exactly!" Julie exclaimed, happy that someone else shared her sentiments.

Duo smiled at her. She was also the first person he had ever met that felt that way. Trowa did have a slight thing against the alliance and Hiiro, gods forbid you mention that word in his presence. He would flip out!

Hearing noise, they turned the last corner and came out into the party once again.

"Wow, this is an awesome party!" Julie whispered, wishing she could stay. But no, she had to save the world.

"Yea. Bummer we can't stay." Duo agreed as they wound their way to the buffet table. Next to it, Julie saw Mayumi and Duo saw Hiiro.

"So that's your friend? The mean looking one?" Julie asked, recognizing him.

"Yep! Good ole Hiiro, never a smile on his face!"

"Yea, I saw him earlier in the night. Didn't want to go near him."

"It's best that you don't. When he's on a mission he isn't the most sociable person."

"Yea, Mayumi's the same way."

"Is that the girl with Hiiro?"

"Yep,"

They walked up to the two teens standing at the table trying to act like they fit in.

"Hey Hiiro! And you must be Mayumi!" Duo greeted cordially.

"And you must be Hiiro. I saw you earlier this evening!" Julie said, walking over to him.

Hiiro didn't reply, only glared at her.

"Like I said, he's not very sociable," Duo apologized for his friend.

"Nice to meet you Mayumi," Duo said, shaking her hand.

Mayumi could see why Julie liked Duo. He was cute, funny, and very energetic. Perfect match for her.

"Hey, I'm gonna get some food," Julie said, getting in line.

"Yea, me too. We'll be right back!" Duo said, jumping in line behind Julie.

Mayumi turned back to Hiiro.

"So that's Duo. He seems very nice," she said, trying to make conversation. It would seem strange if they weren't talking yet standing together.

"Yes. A very annoying person, as is that friend of yours. Julie, was it?"

Mayumi glared at him ferociously. He was stepping over the line by insulting her friend.

"Watch it. Don't ever insult one of my friends." She growled, eyes narrowed.

Hiiro didn't reply. In truth, he was a little taken aback. She was really pissed, and he didn't want to provoke her any further. He might actually get hurt.

Just then Shiris and Trowa walked up.

"Hey Mayumi!" Shiris greeted, and presented Trowa.

"This is Trowa. And you are Hiiro, right?" she said, nodding at Hiiro.

"Yes. Nice to meet you," he answered. He thought this girl was a little bit more level headed.

"Nice to meet you Trowa," Mayumi said, holding out her hand.

"Nice to meet you as well," he replied, shaking her hand.

"Where's Julie?" Shiris asked, looking around. "Wait, let me guess. She's in the food line?"

"Not anymore!" came the cheerful reply. Turning, Shiris saw Julie standing next to her.

"Hey! This must be Trowa!" Julie said, holding out her free hand to him.

"Hey, I remember you!" Shiris exclaimed to Duo, who nodded with a slight blush.

"Yep. I remember you too. Now I know why you seemed distracted, with voices talking in your ear," he laughed. Shiris smiled.

"Yea, it was kind of disconcerting when two certain someone's began having a fight in my ear," she glanced at her friends. They seemed to be fascinated with the floor.

"Excuse me, but may I remind you that we are not supposed to be talking?" Hiiro reminded them.

Julie and Duo looked puzzled. "Why not?" They asked at the same time.

"Because," Mayumi continued, being of the same mind, "we belong to different organizations."

"Oh, that's right," Julie said quietly. Even though she felt one way, Mayumi felt the other way, which meant that her way was out.

"That doesn't matter," Duo protested, putting an arm around Julie, who immediately brightened. "If we become friends, its not our fault!"

"Yes, it is. We are leaving, now," Hiiro said menacingly.

"Wait a minute! We just met at a party! What so wrong about that?" Shiris demanded, facing Hiiro.

He glared at her. "Even if we did, we can't associate. I haven't fallen victim to you yet, but obviously Trowa and Duo have. Who knows what information you could coerce them into giving you."

"Hey! Are you suggesting Julie and I are seducing them?" Shiris almost shouted, extremely offended.

"Possibly. We don't know what you are capable of."

Trowa grabbed Shiris' arms as she lunged forward.

"Come on, let's go," Mayumi said sternly, eyes boring a hole in Hiiro's head. He had now insulted both of her friends with one comment. She didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.

"Leaving so soon?" a deep voice said form behind her. Startled, she came face to face with the minister.

Shit! She thought, and furiously tried to think of something to say.

"Yes, I'm afraid we have to go minister," Shiris said apologetically, coming to the rescue.

Julie mentally kicked herself. She should have been checking her mirror to see where he was!

"Oh, but please, don't leave yet. I haven't seen you on the dance floor all night, and I'm sure these nice men would love to have you for a dance, am I right?" the minister said cheerily. His advisors had told him to try and be nice to all his guests. It would be good for his image.

Duo immediately began nodding furiously. Trowa cast a sideways glance at Shiris, who looked stunned. That was not the answer she was expecting.

"Uh…umm…of...of course! If that pleases you, of course!" She smiled nervously and turned back to the others, face becoming apologetic. Nodding happily, the minister walked away, pleased with his social skills.

"Lets go!" Duo cried, pulling Julie onto the dance floor. She didn't object one bit.

"No." Hiiro and Mayumi said firmly as Trowa and Shiris looked at them.

"Charkovky's body will be found any minute. We can't risk getting stuck in here. Security will lock us all in if something happens…" Mayumi warned.

Trowa looked at Shiris. Screw protocol.

"Trowa," Hiiro said threateningly when he saw the look Trowa was giving Shiris. When he saw her looked at him with a small smile, he knew it was over.

Glancing apologetically at Mayumi, she and Trowa walked over to the dance floor.

"Come on, let's go," Mayumi sighed after a moment's silence.

Hiiro stared at her, shock registering on his face. Was she crazy?

"We look very suspicious standing here, after he told up to dance. So come on."

He knew she was right. Not saying anything, he started for the dance floor. Shaking her head, she hurried to catch up with him.

The band was playing a waltz, something Shiris had always wanted to dance to. When Trowa swept her into the dance, she got completely lost in the rhythm. She forgot why she was there, why they had to leave, why they were enemies. They only thing that stayed clear as crystal to her was the man she was dancing with. He held her firmly, arm on her back and holding her right hand with his left. They quickly fell into a rhythm and didn't have to concentrate on where they were going. Looking over his shoulder, she saw Julie and Duo go sailing by. she was close to him, her head on his shoulder. Then Mayumi and Hiiro went by, standing stiffly together.

Neither talked during the dance. Neither wanted to ruin the moment, which very could be their first and last. Shiris felt herself slowly melting as he held her closer and closer until they were completely together, like Duo and Julie. She gazed up into his face, and fell into a trance when she met his sparkling emerald eyes.

His in turn melted when they met her dazzling chocolate brown. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen before, big and dark, with thick dark eyelashes. They gazed alluringly at him. He felt himself reaching down, down, to meet her lips, which were inches away.

Shiris rose to meet him as he bent down. Their lips were so close…

"HE'S DEAD!" 


	7. Explosive seperation

They jerked up at the sound of a high-pitched scream coming form in front of them. The crowd parted and they could see a maid leaning against the doorway into the corridors, looking very faint.

"Charkovky! He's been murdered!" she screamed again, then swooned.

Shiris turned quickly to Trowa.

"We have to get out of here!" she whispered hurriedly, motioning to her friends.

Hiiro came up to Trowa. "Come on, let's go," he whispered and pulled Trowa away. Duo was on his other hand.

At the same time, Mayumi came up to Shiris. "Lets go. We're found out," she said. Shiris looked at Trowa, who couldn't get out of Hiiro's grip. He stared back at her, his eyes pools of longing, and was lost in the frenzied crowd.

She shook her head. She had to think about her friends now and forget about Trowa.

"I know a way out," she whispered to Mayumi and Julie, who was being held by Mayumi.

They followed her as she led the way to a side door.

"This leads to a window to the right side of the mansion. Come on, we have to hurry!" she explained when the others had caught up with her. They raced down the corridor as everyone else was crowding around the maid. The security in the dance room had already rushed over, and no one noticed them slip out the side door.

It was dark and dimly lighted in the corridor. They made their way along the wall, pausing every so often when they heard hurried footsteps down another corridor.

Eventually they reached a room. Ducking inside, they went to he window and looked out.

All the guards that were stationed outside had rushed to the front doors and the gate. No one could get in or out with out getting shot.

"So now what?" Julie asked, discouraged. The place was surrounded

"Now we make a distraction," Shiris said, smiling mischievously. She pulled out the packet of mini explosives form her purse.

"Of course!" Mayumi exclaimed. "We blow up something away form the gates, the guards rush over, and we escape! But we ought to try and distract the guards along the fence. If we distract the ones at the gate, there's bound to be some people who stay behind. And we can't risk getting caught."

Shiris nodded. " Good idea."

Julie opened the window quietly and jumped out, immediately clinging to the shadows of the mansion. Shiris followed her, and then Mayumi.

"Okay, ill go and plant these on those cars over there." She gestured towards a line of limos that had bee n parked discreetly behind the mansion, far away form the main gates. If they blew up, the nearest guards would come running, allowing the girls to climb the fence and escape.

The others nodded.

"We'll wait her until we see the fireworks," Julie said. Shiris nodded and started for the cars, staying in the shadows.

She arrived at the first one and looked about for a good hiding place to duck behind when the cars blew.

She noticed a clump of beautiful, tall bushes about 100 meters away. There were a few bushes before that, but hey were within the blast radius. Another 300 meters and many bushes and trees from that was the fence, along with 10 guards. At most, she would have to deal with three.

Ripping open the package, she planted the first explosive on a black limo with the license plate NMBER1.

Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched.

"Is that Shiris?" Duo asked, peering over their hiding place. Trowa immediately leapt up next to him.

"Yea, it is! What is she doing?" he asked, watching her stealthily approaching the limo.

"Probably something we ought to be doing," Hiiro grumbled. They were stuck, with no weapons or gadgets, and hadn't thought of an escape plan yet.

"Uhh…guys…is she doing what I think she's doing? Cause if so, I think we ought to move…" Duo said fearfully.

Shiris moved to the fifth and last car. That many explosives ought to cause a nice little bonfire and getaway tool.

"There!" She counted to three, pressed a button on the final explosive, and ran like hell for the bushes.

Hiiro peered over the shrubbery they were hiding behind. He saw Shiris running straight for them as fast as she could.

"We have to move, now!" he yelled. By now sirens and other alarms were filling the air.

"Why? What is she doing?" Trowa asked.

"Come one!" Hiiro shouted, and stood up, the others following suit.

Just then, Shiris came hurtling at them.

Wow! It s them! She thought, almost stopping. But remembering what a hell of a tan she would get if she hesitated, she didn't.

Should she warn them? Mayumi wouldn't, while Julie would probably stop and talk. She wouldn't do either.

"Come on!" She cried above the roar of a medical helicopter, and grabbed Trowa and Duo' arms, pulling them along with her. Hiiro followed closely behind.

Just as she was diving for the bushes, an enormous explosion rocked the air and a wall of heat pushed her forward and up.

She hit the ground and immediately crawled under the cover of the bushes, eyes shut against the bright ball of fire.

Even from where she was, she could feel the heat against her skin, and curled into a tighter ball. Had she underestimated the size of the explosion? Would they be burned to a crisp?

A second after the sound of the explosion had died, shouts and cries form the guards at the gate filled the air. Safely under the cover of the bushes, she waited for them to pass.

Then, " did you do that?" Shiris started. She had almost forgotten someone was with her!

She looked at Trowa through half closed eyes, still guarded against the intense light.

"Yep! Our escape rout! Your welcome to make use of it!" she said, sitting up. Duo and Hiiro were focused on the fireball.

Shiris studied the gate. Only tow guards had remained, less then she had expected. Perfect!

Looking behind her, she saw Julie and Mayumi leave the shadows and start for the exact pint on the fence she was looking at.

"I have to go," she told Trowa, standing up. None of the guards could see them because of the cover of the trees. "Maybe we'll see each other gain, on another mission," she said hopefully, but inside did not believe it.

He took her hand. "I'll see you again, I promise,"

She almost started to cry. But she was strong. She could hold it in, at least until they got back to base.

"Good bye," she whispered, and kissed him on the mouth. It was only for a split second, but Trowa felt like it lasted forever. It was only when she pulled away that he was dragged back to earth.

Without another word, she sprinted away, tearing off the bottom of her dress to allow for easier climbing.

"Say good bye to Julie for me!" Duo shouted desperately.

"I will!" she called back, and then sped for the gate. Ahead of her, the men could see Mayumi and Julie racing for the gate. The girls hadn't seen them.

They watched as Shiris ran to catch up with them, and as the girls knocked out the two remaining guards. Then they were gone, up and over the high spiked fence.


	8. The Mall

Shiris leapt lightly to the ground, following Julie and Mayumi. They raced across the street and away from the main gates and into the twilight, not speaking. They would need their strength for running, since guards would inevitably begin to hunt the streets once they discovered the unconscious guards at the fence. And they had a while to go before they found the hotel again.

Back at the mansion, the three boys looked at each other.

"Come one, lets go," Hiiro ordered, running for the fence. The other two didn't hesitate to follow him.

Lightly they jumped down form the fence, looking left and right. There was no sign of the girls.

"This way, we need to get back to the hotel and contact the base. We have a lot to talk about," Hiiro commanded, starting off at a run in the same direction the girls had gone. The other two followed.

A half an hour later the girls arrived back at their hotel.

"Okay, you two go in. I can't, I don't have a dress." Shiris muttered, gesturing to her pretty, sparkling, low cut top that led down to a pair of red spandex. Julie giggled.

"Hey, shut up," Shiris said good-humouredly.

"Come one Julie, lets go get the stuff." Mayumi ordered, and then turned to Shiris. "We'll get the bags and come back. Wait for us here, and don't move form the shadows. If any police come, be careful."

Shiris nodded, face serious.

Mayumi and Julie brushed back their hair, smoothed their dresses, and fanned their faces. After a minute, they walked back into the hotel.   
"Hello! How was your party?" the concierge asked as they entered, looking flushed. He had assumed it was form the party.

"It was to die for," Julie replied with a smile and a snicker. Mayumi glanced warningly at her, and she grinned.

Outside, Shiris rubbed her arms to keep warm. As the sweat evaporated form her body, she was getting colder and colder.

Then she got burning hot as a police car turned onto the street. She backed up even further into the shadows of the trees across the street from the hotel.

The car, unfortunately, had a searchlight. Apparently the minister wasn't taking any chances.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she muttered, unable to go anywhere without being seen. The police car had stopped in front of the hotel and one officer had gotten out. How could she warn the two? If they were caught…

"Excuse me, miss!"

A cold, hard voice wrenched her back to her own problems. A police officer had gotten out of the car and was walking towards her. She blinked and put her head down as the officer shinned the light in her face.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously. He had a right to be suspicious. It wasn't often that a woman with spandex and a dress top was seen standing outside at 1:00 in the morning in 20-degree weather.

"Ahh…umm…I'm lost?" she said with a hint of timidness. Time to act like the innocent damsel in distress.

"I was walking home from my friends house, and I got lost…can you tell me where… Shacovy Street is?" She completely made that up, but he put down his flashlight.

"Thank you," she said truthfully. The light had been hurting her eyes.

The man walked closer. "What was your friends name?" he asked, continuing forward.

Okay, too may questions. Time to dispatch this one.

"Miss, I said—,"

"I heard you. And here, I'll give you his card so you can call him yourself," she fibbed, grabbing a piece of paper out of her purse and holding it out to him. He was almost within kicking distance when he stopped suddenly and stared at her other hand.

"What? What's wr—oh. I see." Her gun was definitely sticking out of her purse. She must have moved it when she got the piece of paper. Oh well, only worse for the officer.

She looked back at him. He began to reach for his gun when Shiris leapt up and whipped him back with a spin kick to the head. He spun around and landed on the ground face down.

She landed lightly, confiscated his gun, and then turned back to the hotel. Julie and Mayumi were walking back down the stairs, and the officer was still at the front desk! The guard would definitely suspect them, dressed in party clothes yet leaving with all their bags. Time for a distraction.

Shiris faced away from the hotel and fired the gun into the ground a few meters away. Sure enough, the officer looked up and sprinted out of the hotel. Julie and Mayumi, also not knowing what was going on, dashed to the door. Their trained eyes saw Shiris in the shadows right away, while the unlucky officer saw only her fist when it connected with his jaw. He landed right next to his partner.

Shiris gave them a thumbs up sign, and they nodded, going back inside to pay. The clerk, a little startled by the gunshot, hurriedly gave them their bill, which they paid immediately, in cash.

"Thank you," Julie called as they ran out the front door. Down the street they could see lights flashing. Soon, the sound of sirens could be heard.

"The concierge must have called the police!" Julie shouted above the sirens, which were down the block.

"We have to get out of here! Where's Shiris?" Mayumi yelled back. Shiris wasn't where she was supposed to be. They raced to the side of the building.

Suddenly a car came screeching up to them and the passenger side door flew open.

"Quick! Get in!" Shiris shouted form the driver's seat.

The girls didn't hesitate.

"You stole a police car!?" Mayumi cried, next to Shiris.

"Yep!" she replied, and threw the car into reverse. The real policemen were almost on them, and one had already seen the unconscious officers. He shouted and sprinted for the car.

"Get us out of here!" Julie screamed as the police opened fire. Shiris jerked back into drive, spun in a tight circle, and slammed on the gas. The car raced down the road with the other cars in hot pursuit.

"We have to lose them!" Mayumi exclaimed as Julie watched from out the back window.

"I know, I know! Where should we go?" she asked, running a red light. The cars around her slid and slammed into one another.

"Sorry!" Julie called at them. "Hey, only two police cars made it through!" she said excitedly.

"Okay, lets go to the airport. We can find a place to hide and contact Jane for further instructions. The officers didn't see us, and no one knows we were the ones who stole the car. We weren't in front of the lobby, so no one there knows it was us." Mayumi commented.

"Yeah, but if we go to the airport, there's bound to be security like none other. I think we are, in effect, stuck here until they decide they can't find the killer." Julie pointed out. Mayumi nodded. "You're right. I didn't think about thaaaahhhh!" her sentence was cut off as Shiris made a hard right, almost on two wheels. As a reward, one police car flipped over when it attempted the turn. One more to go.

"lets head to a mall!" Julie cried, pointing to a bright neon sign that was visible down the road.

Shiris and Mayumi considered this. Well, actually Shiris didn't really, since she was trying to lose the last car.

"good idea. We can find a quiet place, and the police would never think of looking there. Lets go.," she said to Shiris.

"only if we can shake this guy before we get there. I'll take a slight detour so he doesn't know where we're going." She quickly slowed down and turned right onto a back road. The car followed. A few twists and turns later, Shiris saw a dirt road leading off the street. The police car was so far behind that he didn't see her go up onto the street.

Shiris stopped a few feet after pulling onto the dirt road.

"Julie, get on the floor and lay down," Shiris ordered sternly.

"what?"

"do it. now."

Fearfully Julie slid onto the floor and stretched out.

"uhh…Shiris? What are you doing?" Julie asked timidly watching Shiris' set face, afraid to hear the answer. In response, Shiris jerked the car into reverse, pushed her foot all the way down on the gas while still on the brake, then released the brake and let the car go flying out onto the street.

All three jerked violently when their car connected with a shriek of metal on metal and the high-pitched sound of breaking glass with the other police car, which had been about to pass their hiding spot. Shiris slammed against the wheel and Mayumi almost went through the dashboard.

"Jesus Shiris!" Julie shouted, after the car came to a standstill.

Shiris didn't reply. She threw the car back into gear and floored it, leaving behind the smoking ruin of the other car that suddenly burst into flames. Julie noticed thankfully that the officer got out before it blew, looking a little dazed.

She flopped back onto her seat, rubbing her neck.

"that was a little close, don't you think?" she muttered.

"it was the only choice. We had to lose him fast, and for good. Now we have to find a hiding place and get to the mall," Mayumi said, rubbing her own back. Shiris nodded and wound her way back to the highway on which the mall stood. A few streets away from the mall, they parked the steaming car behind a shed.


	9. Orders

Managing to get out of the mangled car, they grabbed the bags and made their way back to the highway and crossed it, almost getting hit a few dozen times.

"it would suck if we died on a highway after all that," Julie muttered after avoiding a Mercedes that had been hurtling at her.

Finally, they looked up at the neon sign gratefully. Trying to find the least auspicious doorway, they settled on the janitor's entrance. At this time of night, there wouldn't be many people left in the mall except at the casino, which they intended to avoid.

"lets get to a bathroom. They usually have an outlet for different things," Julie suggested, stopping to read the map of the mall. She directed them to a ladies room and Shiris and Mayumi went in. Julie took a piece of paper and wrote out an OUT OF ORDER sign and hung it on the door.

After checking to make sure no one was there, Mayumi took out a laptop from one of the bags and set it up. Then she took out a dampener that she plugged into the outlet. It would prevent their signal form being intercepted and traced.

Next Julie removed a tiny microphone and mini video camera which she plugged in and set up next to the computer.

While they were setting up, Shiris turned on the computer and logged onto the Internet. She typed in a series of random letters, pressed enter, and waited. Immediately a blank screen came up.

"all set," she said to the others.

"yep, all set too," Julie replied, moving the video camera so it faced them.

Shiris typed in the word ALIENKAYORUROSE and pressed enter. That was their secret password. Each girl had picked one of the words in it, and not even the people who worked at the agency knew it. only they could access the top-secret direct link to doctor Jane.

She popped up onto the screen, face stern.

"girls, what happened?" she asked immediately. News traveled fast in the spy world, and she already knew all about the incident at the minister. What she didn't know was who they had met.

"well, we hit some obstacles,' Shiris said vaguely.

"some very…interesting obstacles," Julie added.

"doctor Jane, we were proceeding as planned with the mission.," Mayumi contributed, "Everything was going smoothly until we…uh….kind of…met, I guess you could say, three boys who had the same exact mission directives as we did." Jane only raised an eyebrow in response. She had no idea who they could mean.

"well, anyway, the one who burst in on me just as I was about to get the information, ended up shooting Charkovky in the head before I could elicit anything from the assistant Minster. After that, we all regrouped. Julie managed to get the password for the computer, but I'm sure it's already been changed. Shiris didn't get any information either because the guard she had chosen to use turned out to be on of the boys who worked for the organization. He had chosen her to use to get information."

"And what organization did they work for?" Jane asked, a little tone filtering into her voice. She had an inkling of suspicion, but…

"The federation," Mayumi stated, and the three watched Jane's face go slack with shock.

"The Federation?" She hissed, eyes narrowing. "That bastard. He must have…god! How could they have known about it? I took so many precautions…" the girls looked at each other. Jane was mumbling to herself, not even glancing at them. Then her head snapped back to them, her face composed once again. Only her eyes betrayed how angry she was.

"Girls, you did as best you could. It was those men who ruined it."

Julie and Shiris began to protest while Mayumi nodded in agreement, but Jane continued quickly.

"Okay. where are you now? What's your status?"

"We're in a mall bathroom. Hotel is gone, we have all our luggage. Awaiting further instruction," Mayumi responded.

"Hmm…" Jane looked down, typing something on her computer. "Okay…okay…I see…okay." she looked back up, face determined.

"First, I want you to go inspect one of the minister's suspect sites for the creation of weapons of mass destruction. Get to Moscow and contact me from there. Basically, I want you to get evidence that proves the fact that weapons are being built down there. That will put him out of business for good. But it will be very dangerous. It will be extremely well protected, and getting into there will be difficult. After you send us pictures, we'll take care of the rest."

"And what would that mean?" Mayumi asked suspiciously.

"Just make sure you get yourselves out of there after you let us know what is down there," Jane ordered, not saying anything else. The girls were puzzled. Jane always told them everything about the mission.

"Is that clear?" she asked.

"Yes," they all replied, very warily. This mission sounded like it could turn out worse than their last one.

"Good. Contact me as soon as you get to Moscow."

"Yes ma'am," they chorused.

"Okay. Until then, be careful. Goodbye." Her face blipped off the screen.

"Well, we better get changed into normal clothes," Julie suggested after the computer had been turned off.

"What did she mean; we better get out of there? What is the agency planning to do?" Shiris asked while putting on a pair of jeans.

"I have no idea. But we better follow her orders," Mayumi replied while lacing up her combat boots. "I've never seen her that upset,"

The others nodded in agreement.


	10. The Lion's Den

As a last touch to their outfits, all three put on one of the wigs contained in the bag, just in case anyone had seen their faces and might see them again.

Mayumi left the room as a raven-haired girl, Julie as a platinum blond, and Shiris as a fiery red head.

"We don't look at all suspicious with our luggage bags," Julie remarked sarcastically, running through the mall with a roller bag.

"At least you don't have to carry a bag," Mayumi muttered, looking extremely funny trying to balance herself while holding an incredibly heavy bag on her shoulder. Shiris laughed. She herself had both a roller and a shoulder bag.

Luckily, at this time of night the mall was nearly deserted. The girls decided to call for a cab from the front of the mall.

"Yeah, that's right. Okay." Mayumi hung up the pay phone and sat down.

"They'll be here in 10 minutes, so we ought to rest. We'll most likely have to leave early in the morning."

Julie sighed and slumped down next to Mayumi. "I can't wait to hit the sack. I'm exhausted!"

"Shiris, what's the matter?" Mayumi asked curiously as Shiris stared out the window.

"We got company…" she whispered, pointing outside. The other two jumped up and raced to the window. Outside, three sets of flashing red and blue lights could be seen turning into the parking lot.

"What do we do?" Julie asked.

"We have to wait. Hopefully the taxi will get here sooner than they will." Mayumi ordered, sitting back down. "We have to act normal. Sit down."

The others sat, fidgeting hands betraying their nervousness. If the cop that they hit with the car was in that crowd, he might recognize their faces.

Just then the taxi pulled up outside.

"Thank you!" Julie whispered, kissing the cross chain around her neck. The girls filed outside, Mayumi first, then Julie, and then Shiris.

At the same instant Shiris went through the glass doors, a cop opened the door next to her.

She glanced at him, and saw that it was the man they had hit. She quickly looked down, hair hiding her face. The cop didn't give her a second glance.

"Whew! That was close!" She muttered to herself, climbing into the front seat. She was the only one who had the faintest inkling of where they were going.

"Can you take us to Moscow?" She asked in perfect Russian. The taxi driver, an older man with a grizzled beard, nodded and pulled out of the parking lot.

The girls in the back sat back and sighed. They were home free, for a while. In the background, police sirens could be heard from the mall.

Three hours and many naps later, the taxi pulled up in front of a restaurant.

"We're stopping here?" Julie asked, looking at the sleazy looking bar.

"Yes. Now get out of the car," Mayumi muttered though clenched teeth. Her nerves were strained, her head hurt, and she was starving.

"Fine, whatever," Julie muttered, feeling a little testy herself.

Shiris led the way into the restaurant. They immediately went into the bathroom, hung up the OUT OF ORDER sign, and set up shop again. This time Jane appeared very calm, which they were very glad to see.

"We're in Moscow and awaiting further instruction," Mayumi said.

"Good. Go to a hotel called the Lion's Den in Moscow. At the hotel will be a package with further instruction." The screen fuzzed out for a minute, then blipped back on. "Did you copy that?"

"Yeah…" Julie said, uneasy.

"Jane?" Shiris asked, uneasy as well. The screen had never done that before. Their connections were always perfect. A blip in the information screen could only be a bad thing.

"Yes?" Jane asked pleasantly. In fact, she hadn't stopped smiling since they had seen her.

"What was that blip in the screen?"

Jane's face faltered for a moment, and then the smile returned. "Oh, I bumped the cable for a moment. Nothing to worry about."

Shiris nodded, satisfied. She hadn't thought about that. Mayumi and Julie also relaxed.

"Oh, okay. Well then, we'll contact you." Mayumi said.

"Good. See you then," Jane said, and clicked off.

"Well, lets go hail another taxi," Julie sighed, packing away the equipment. After a second, the other two helped her.

"But first, we eat," Mayumi ordered.

"Wow! Mayumi, I thought you were never hungry! This is a special occasion!" Julie cried, jumping up.

"It does sound like a good ides," Shiris added, checking her wallet for money. "Yep, lets go!"

An hour later, and with full bellies, the girls climbed into their second cab of the night.

"We want to go to the Lions Den," Shiris said, up front once again. The driver, this time a middle aged man with a baldhead and a moustache, nodded with a cheerful smile and took off. Shiris began to wonder if he was trying out for he Russian grand prix.

Within a few minutes, the cab arrived in front of a second-class hotel with a huge lion at the front gate.

"Well, this looks like the place," Julie said, looking at the lion.

"Yeah, especially since it says Lion's Den," Mayumi commented, smirking at Julie, who stuck out her tongue.

"Enough!" Shiris whispered fiercely when they began poking each other as she was trying to pay the driver.

"Thanks!" Shiris told the man, and took her bags up to the front desk.

"Hi, we have a reservation for…." She trailed off when she realized Jane had not given them a name under which they were reserved. Shit! How could she forget that?!

"Uh, hold on one second, I forgot something…." She ran over to Mayumi and Julie who were reading magazines.

"Guys! Jane didn't give us a name!" Shiris managed to keep her voice below a scream, but just barely.

"What? What do you mean?" Julie asked, standing up.

"She forget to…oh my god. She did. How could she do that?!" Mayumi exclaimed, thinking back to the conversation with Jane. She had definitely forgotten to give them a name.

"This is not like Jane. What should we do?" Shiris asked, glancing back at the hotel clerk. She was looking at them strangely.

"We're already attracting attention. We have to come up with a name and fast." Shiris urged.

"Okay, okay. How about we-"

"Excuse me," said a voice from behind. They whirled around and saw the clerk.

"Sorry to interrupt, but do you three know a Mrs. Jane?"

They looked at each other. Should they say yes?

"Yes." Mayumi stated curtly.

The clerk smiled, relieved. "Well then, I have your room ready. She said that you might not remember the name under which she booked you. She said that she mentioned it at the very end of your conversation, so you might not have caught it."

They looked at each other again. Well, it was better then spending the night out on the streets. They had spent the last of their money at the restaurant.

"Okay, thank you," Mayumi said, taking the key card from the woman.

"Any time," she smiled, and went back to her desk.

"So I guess Jane remembered that she didn't tell us…" Shiris said quietly, not sure why Jane had given her real name.

"Yeah…well, let's go up to the room. Maybe she left a message," Julie said, taking the keys. "Room 678, sixth floor. Let's go,"

Shiris and Mayumi followed Julie to the elevator. Once inside, Mayumi said, "Once we get in there, I want the whole room checked. Something's not right." Shiris nodded, and Julie looked grim.

_DING_

The doors opened, and they stepped out. No one tried to attack them or kill them. Mayumi motioned them forward. Room 678 was down the hall and to the left. At the corner, Mayumi peered cautiously around. The other two stood, guns drawn, behind her.

"All clear," she whispered. Mayumi drew her gun as they walked to the door.

"I'll count to three and then open it. One, two….three!"

_BAM_

The door slammed against the wall. The girls, nerves geared up, stealthily slipped into the room. The main room had two double beds with a bathroom and a closet leading off from it.

"Check for recorders or cameras," Mayumi whispered. Julie went to the closet, Mayumi to the main room, and Shiris to the bathroom. Julie whipped the bathrobes out of the way and took a device from her bag. It looked like a long toothbrush. In reality, it clicked when it came near a device that used high frequency waves, such as transmitters.

Nothing clicked.

Mayumi took out a replica device. Once again, nothing clicked.

Shiris received no clicks either, and then pulled at the mirror above the sink. It didn't budge, which meant it could be a double-sided mirror.

She put down her equipment.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Julie called, hearing no activity.

"I found a mirror that won't move. Don't worry, I'll be very careful," she called back, and slammed the butt of her gun into the mirror. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

Behind it, Shiris saw plain wood.

"What the hell was that?" Julie cried, rushing in.

"Don't worry, it was a false alarm."

"You call that being careful?" Julie asked with a grin.

Shiris shrugged and went out into the main room. Mayumi stood up after looking under the beds.

"All clear in here," she said. "It seems okay."

"Yea, I guess so," Julie agreed, and plopped down onto a bed.


	11. Hide and Seek

"I'm going out to get a drink from the machine down the hall," Mayumi said, tucking her gun into her pants and pulling her shirt over it to cover it.

"Be careful," Julie warned, flipping on the TV.

"I'll be fine. I think I can take care of myself."

"If you're not back in two minutes, we're coming after you."

"It'll take me two seconds."

"I'm timing you!" Julie called out as Mayumi went out the door.

Mayumi shook her head and went out into the hall.

"Should one of us go with her?" Shiris asked, peering out the window onto the lit streets below. No one was in sight.

"Naw, she can take care of herself. You worry too much!"

"You'll thank me for worrying so much one day," Shiris replied.

"Yeah, yeah, but still, you worry too much."

"So how long has she been gone?"

Julie glanced at her watch. "1 minute 16 seconds. She still has time, don't worry."

"I'm not worried. I'm just…concerned."

Julie smiled and shook her head.

I minute later Shiris suggested they go look for her.

"Give her a few more seconds. I'm sure she's on her way back right now." Julie replied, but glanced at her watch a minute later.

"Lets go," Shiris said, grabbing her gun. Julie was still a little hesitant. It took a whole lot of power to bring one of them down…

A thud from in the corridor brought then to their feet. A crash and the sound of breaking glass brought them outside the door and in the hallway.

Because it was night, the hallway was dimly lit. But they could still make out the shattered mirror at the other end of the hallway, right next to the broken vase. Shards of glass littered the floor.

"Mayumi!" Julie shouted, starting for the mirror.

Shiris grabbed her shirt and pulled her back.

"Are you crazy? That's exactly what they're expecting! We have to be careful!"

Julie, eyes narrowed, nodded.

They turned back to the mirror, which was about 100 feet away. It was next to the elevators, and two other hallways led into the area. In other words, it was the perfect ambush spot.

"Okay, I'll go along the right, you go along the left. When we hit the end, on the count of three, we go out."

"Right." Julie crept along the wall across from Shiris. At the end, Shiris held up her hand and counted off three fingers.

On the third finger, they leapt around the corner, guns up.

No one was there.

"Where'd they go?" Julie muttered, pointing her gun at the floor.

"I don't know. But they have to be somewhere. Let's-"

Above their heads, they head a thump.

Julie looked at Shiris, who, after a second, sprinted over to the stairwell. Julie raced after her, footsteps clanging on the metal stairs, and burst out onto the seventh floor.

"Where are they!?" Julie cried, slamming her fist into the wall. No one was there.

"They're playing with us. Come on, we're not going to lose." Shiris headed for the elevators. It seemed as though the lights had dimmed even more.

"They have to give us another clue, otherwise…." She paused.

"Wait a minute…."

Shiris whirled around to face empty air. The door to the stairway banged shut.

"Julie!" Shiris cried, raced over to it and pulled on the doorknob. It was locked.

"_WHERE ARE THEY?!"_ she screamed. Heart racing, she surveyed her options. She could take the elevator, which would be very risky, she could jump out the window, which would be certain death, or…she could use a telephone! She ran to the nearest door and began knocking furiously.

"Help! Open up!" She shouted in Russian, English, Japanese, Spanish, and all the languages she could think of. No one answered. In fact, no one seemed to be on that floor. Her knocks echoed in the empty hallway. After the last door, she leaned against the wall. She was completely alone.

"They took over the whole floor…" now she was a little freaked out. Whoever had done this had to be powerful… "No. I'm not going to psych myself out. I need to find them. Okay. I'll take the elevator."

She walked over and pressed the button. It didn't light up. "What the hell?" She shouted, punching it again. And again. And again. Nothing lit up. Nothing started up.

"They knocked out the freaking elevators too?! Now what am I supposed to do? Starve in here?" She yelled into the air.

As if in response, the lights dimmed even more. Shiris knew they were toying with her, creeping her out as much as they could before they took her.

She drew her gun and backed up into he corner by the elevators and stayed perfectly silent. She could see down one hall, but the other two were invisible.

Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. All she could hear was her own breathing, a little fast and very ragged. A siren sounded faintly in the distance. She pushed her hair away from her face. Her hand froze midway down her cheek as she heard the creak of a door. Now she held her breath. She couldn't see anyone coming down the corridor she was facing, so it must be coming down one of the invisible ones. Great.

Faintly, down one of the corridors, a gun cocked. Okay, she was not going to wait to be killed. She was going to take the offensive.

Waiting a second to gather her nerves, she leapt out of her hiding spot and aimed her gun down the hallway to the left. Within a millisecond she realized she had chosen the wrong hallway. She tried to turn around, but a blow to the head stopped her. She fell to the ground and saw her gun kicked away from her. But she wasn't part of the Alliance for nothing. The next time the foot showed itself, she grabbed it and twisted. The man grunted and fell to the ground. Shiris jumped up kicked the man as he stood up. She couldn't see his face because it was so dark, but she could see he was taller than she.

The man didn't fall from her kick. Furious, she did a roundhouse kick and he slammed into the wall. She grabbed his neck.

"Where are my friends?" she shouted, squeezing. He didn't answer. "Tell me!"

He began clawing at her hands when she squeezed harder, but still said nothing.

She shouted in frustration and threw him down on the floor. Picking up her gun, she aimed it at him. Thus far, she had not seen his own gun.

"_Where are they_—Hiiro?!"

She stared at the boy. It was indeed Hiiro, illuminated by a streak of moonlight.

"What are you— uhh!" He took advantage of her surprise by lunging up and punching her in the face. She would definitely have a bruise from that one.

When she didn't fall, he slammed her in the stomach. She landed hard, the wind knocked out of her. This time she couldn't move. He lifted her barely conscience form off the ground and tossed her over his shoulder. Her head facing his back, she saw the floor of the stairs and then felt herself being jerked around as he descended quickly. The movement was too much for her, and she couldn't stop the black dots from overtaking her vision.


	12. Face to Gun

Outside, in the back of the hotel, a black van was waiting in the parking lot. Inside, Mayumi and Julie were furiously trying to twist out of the ropes that bound their feet together and their hands behind their backs. This was made difficult by the absence of light.

"Get…off!" Julie cried, wiggling around on the floor. She had been grabbed from behind while she was standing next to Shiris at the stairs. She had been right next to Shiris! Who had grabbed her? She hadn't been able to see her attacker, since he had seized and dragged her from behind. Once she was shoved into the van, he slammed the door and went…somewhere else. Luckily, Mayumi had been in the van as well.

"Julie, it won't work. Someone who knew what they were doing tied these knots," Mayumi commented, sitting calmly against the wall. She had been grabbed on her way back to the room. She also had no idea who her attacker was, since he had also snatched her from behind. But she had managed to kick the vase into the mirror to alert the other two. Unfortunately, it had only caused Julie to get caught as well. Hopefully Shiris was still safe…

At that instant the door to the van opened again and something was tossed in. In the darkness, it took a minute before the girls identified it as their friend.

"Shiris!" Julie gasped, scooting over to the crumpled form.

"What did they do to her?"

"I guess they knocked her out," Mayumi replied. Who had done this? Who wanted them?

Julie stretched Shiris out onto her back, and then fell forward as the van started up.

"I hope this is a short trip," Julie said, leaning back up against the wall.

"Yea. I can't wait to get my hands on these guys,"

"Totally. When I get through with them, they'll be thinner than paper."

"When I get through with them, they'll be…flatter than a pancake."

"Smaller than a pin"

"In more pieces than…a broken mirror."

"A broken pot!"

"A broken plate."

"That's the same thing!"

"I don't care."

What seemed like an hour later, the van shuddered to a halt. Tensely the girls waited, unable to do anything but bite their attackers at the moment. Shiris had still not woken up.

"As soon as they take us out of the van, attack," Mayumi ordered when she heard the front doors open and shut. Footsteps could be heard outside; they must be over gravel.

To their surprise, the footsteps kept walking until they disappeared.

"Are they going to leave us here?" Julie asked incredulously.

"No, someone else must be coming to get us."

Sure enough, new, heavier footsteps were heard. Seconds late the door slid open and three enormous men filled the space.

"Uh…Mayumi…do we still go with the plan?" Julie asked, a little fearfully. These men had to be 300 pounds of muscle, and not one was smiling. Well, actually one was smiling, but it looked like a very mean smile.

Mayumi gulped. "Yes. Ready?"

"Uh…okay…"

Two of the men reached for them and pulled them out of the van. Their hands were so big that both could encircle the waists of the girls. In this manner they managed to get Mayumi and Julie out of the van.

"Now!" Mayumi shouted as she left the car after Julie, and began to twist and struggle. Her assailant didn't flinch when she bite him and drew blood. He only turned and started walking with her towards a small shack, holding her out in front of him like a baby with a wet diaper.

"Mayumi, it isn't working!" Julie called, also having no effect.

"Yes, I realize that!" Mayumi shouted back, still wriggling.

The third one joined up with them, having draped Shiris over his shoulder. Her arms hung limply next to her head.

The three giants walked up to the shack and went inside.

"Please don't tell me we're gonna live in a shack," Julie muttered. Then, once all were inside and the door shut, the floor started moving down.

"An elevator!" Mayumi murmured, not believing her eyes. So, someone very important wanted them.

The elevator stopped with a clang, and a door opened on one side. They filed out and went down a corridor. At the end was a door. Inside, an older man with graying hair and sharp blue eyes greeted them from behind a desk.

"You must be the three Alliance spies," he said, in a smooth, clear voice.

Mayumi and Julie glared at him.

"Franz, take that one and wake her up," he ordered the man holding Shiris. Franz nodded and left. The man turned back to Mayumi and Julie.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're here, so I'll give you a hint. These," a door to his left slid open, "were your kidnappers."

Mayumi gasped and Julie almost fainted as Hiiro, Duo, and Trowa stepped into the room. Hiiro was looking at them coldly, Trowa looked a little upset, and Duo couldn't even look at them.

"Duo! What the hell are you doing?!" Julie exclaimed, unbelieving.

"Hiiro, I can't believe you." Mayumi said coldly, glaring at the boy. She had actually thought he was kind of cool.

"Sir, where's the third girl?" Trowa asked suddenly.

"Oh, Franz had to go wake her up. She should be coming back any minute…Ah, there she is. Welcome!"

Franz returned, dragging Shiris by the neck. She was trying to get out of his grasp, but to no avail. He jerked her up and stood her next to Mayumi.

"Christ, Hiiro, what did you do to her?" Trowa hissed when he saw Shiris' face.

"Oh my god!" Julie cried, seeing the damage done to her friend for the first time.

Her cheek wasn't puffy, but it was a dark shade of black and blue on one side. Her shirt exposed a little bit of her stomach that was a nasty green color. Thank you, Hiiro, she thought, when she saw him. Her eyes fell on Trowa. They softened for a moment, but then hardened again. So the Federation had gotten them. Figures.

"I fought back," Hiiro replied icily.

Trowa glared at him.

"Shiris, are you okay?" Julie asked, looking over at her.

"Yea, I'm okay. My face and stomach hurt a little, that's all. I guess I got the one who hates the Alliance the most." She glared coldly at Hiiro, who stared coolly back.

"Anyway ladies, let me explain why I have brought you here." The man, apparently the leader of the Federation, gestured to Franz and his buddies. They took the girls over to the wall behind them and clamped the chains that were attached to the wall around their wrists above their heads. Then they left the room.

"What are you doing?" Julie asked with a hint of fear, not liking how the situation was turning out. Clearly, neither did Trowa or Duo. They were glancing swiftly from the leader to the girls. Even Hiiro looked a little hesitant.

"I wanted you here to settle a fear that I have. My loyal men told me about your meeting. Needless to say, I was a little upset. I need complete loyalty to me and only me when it comes to the Federation. So, you are the test for them. If they complete it, they will be in my full confidence again. If not, I will have to…demote them. And yes, I am willing to sacrifice the daughter of Dante Nasko for this cause." He looked at Shiris. It was a shame that she didn't follow in the footsteps of her father. He was such a great man… ah well. Lost memories. He turned to the boys and opened a drawer.

"Each of you take one of these."

Hiiro's eyes narrowed. Trowa backed up a step and Duo' mouth opened wide.

"Sir, do you want us to—"

"—kill them? Yes."

The girls stiffened. Now they were in deep trouble. Kill them? How could the boys kill them? Julie knew Duo wouldn't do it. He couldn't, he wouldn't.

Shiris wasn't sure about Trowa. Sure, he liked her, but did the Federation come first?

Mayumi was almost sure Hiiro would kill her. He hadn't had any qualms about killing Charkovky and had only met her once. So why not?

"Sir, I thought you said they wouldn't be hurt," Duo said quietly.

"Yes, well I changed my mind."

"But sir-"

"Quiet. Take one. On the count of three, you shoot. Aim to kill," he ordered. Hiiro walked over and picked up a gun. Duo was next, and almost dropped it. Trowa took the last one, walking as though he was in a trance.

"Good." The leader slammed the drawer shut and everyone jumped.

"Don't we get any last words?" Julie asked, trying to grin as Duo stood in front of her.

"Yes, I suppose. But make them short."

Julie looked pensive for a moment. Then,

"Fuck you."

The leader laughed. "Well said. Now, aim."

Shiris looked at Trowa, who was in front of her.

"Don't do this…" she pleaded. He couldn't have been more than five feet away. He wouldn't miss in a million years.

Mayumi glared at Hiiro. For once, he didn't return the glare.

Duo was shaking so hard he couldn't hold the gun. So far, Julie had the best chance of living.

"_One._"

Mayumi stared straight at Hiiro.

"_Two._"

Julie's eyes glazed over. So this was the end…

"_Three._"


	13. It's always a vent

Shiris closed her eyes as Trowa took aim and fired.

Her eyes snapped open when she realized her arms were loose.

Her chains had fallen, a bullet in the spot where they hooked to the wall.

She saw Trowa turn around and train the gun on the leader.

She looked over, praying the others had not been killed. Duo hadn't even fired the gun, and Mayumi had a hole right next to her head. Duo was also training his gun on the leader, and Hiiro was staring at his gun.

"Hiiro! Get over here!" Duo shouted.

Hiiro jerked up, face scared. Then it closed again and he joined his friends. Shiris ran over to Trowa.

"Can I borrow your gun?"

He gave it to her, and she quickly turned and fired off two shots. Mayumi and Julie then held out their hands and she shot off the handcuffs, Julie doing the same for her. All three rubbed their wrists gratefully as the chains fell away. Julie returned the gun.

"How dare you!" The leader snarled. "Do you think you can just waltz out of here?"

"Why not?" Duo sneered.

"Because I have an alarm button right under my desk."

"You tripped it," Mayumi muttered grimly.

"You got it. And now, all of you are going to die instead of three."

"What do we do now?" Julie asked. "Franz and the others will be joining the party at any minute!"

"First," Duo whipped his gun into the leader's head. He dropped like a stone.

"Now, we have to get to the elevator. Lets go!" The six ran to the door.

Before Mayumi could open it, it burst in and Franz and his pals stormed in, now armed with guns.

"Okay…anyone have a plan B?" Trowa asked, backing up as guns were trained on them.

"Drop the guns!" Franz shouted, gesturing to the weapons in the boys' hands.

They did so without a fight.

"Now move!" Franz shoved Mayumi out the door and into the hall. The other two men ushered the rest out behind her, and began leading them down the hall.

"Now what?" Shiris whispered to Mayumi and Julie in Japanese.

"I don't know." Mayumi replied.

"Can we attack?" Julie suggested.

"Possibly. We'd have to be fast, no mistakes."

"Well, I vote for that idea, cause its gotta be better than this one…" Shiris murmured, pointing to a door a head of them. Through it, they could see at least 100 guards, all armed to the teeth.

"Yeah, I'd say we try our plan!" Julie agreed urgently.

"No talking!" Franz shouted, hitting Julie in the back. She glared at him.

"I get to take him out," Julie muttered, rubbing her back.

"Okay. Ready… set…" the girls tensed, "now!" Mayumi shouted, and spun around to punch the guard behind her in the face. A river of blood flowed from his nose, and then he crumpled as Mayumi brought her knee up.

Julie whipped around and kicked Franz in the face. Then, with a scream, she leaped on him and brought him to the ground. He couldn't stop the barrage of punches that hit his face.

Before the third guard could react, Shiris kicked his gun out of his hand. Fear on his face, he turned and ran.

"Oh no you don't," she muttered, and raced after him. A few inches away from him, she leapt up into the air and flipped over his head. She landed in front of him and punched, catching him square in the jaw. He fell over with a thud, and Shiris stepped over him.

All of this had taken place within a minute.

"Wow…very nice!" Duo complimented, surveying the giants sprawled on the floor.

"Thank you!" Julie said, taking Franz's gun and walking over to Duo. Mayumi and Shiris joined them, both armed. The men in the room beyond the door hadn't moved.

"Now we have to get out of here," Hiiro ordered, starting to run for the corridor that led to the elevator.

The other five quickly followed him.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad," Duo, commented as they ran towards the elevator. Suddenly he slammed into a door. "What the hell?"

"What is that?" Julie cried, looking at the door that had slid down from the ceiling. "Now we cant get out!"

"Come one, this way," Trowa said, turning around.

"Look out!" Shiris shouted, grabbing his waist and pulling him back. A door slid down right where he had been standing.

"That was very close," he murmured shakily, Shiris' arms still around him.

"Now what?" Mayumi asked Hiiro. "You know this place better then we do. We're stuck in a corridor, with no way out, and I'm guessing something else is about to happen."

"Such as?" he retorted, angry at how the situation was turning out.

"Gas!" Julie shrieked, pointing at a stream of air that was coming from a hole in the ceiling.

"We have to get out of here!" Duo shouted above the hiss of the gas. "Most likely the gas is not a nice, sleepy type of gas!"

"How about that vent?" Trowa suggested. Looking up, everyone saw a small vent about 8 feet up.

"Its our best shot," Shiris agreed, coughing. The gas was starting to fill up the room. She put her shirt over her mouth and nose.

"Hoist me up! I'm the lightest!" Mayumi called above the hiss of air. Hiiro positioned himself just under the vent and lifted Mayumi up onto his shoulders.

She pulled at the vent.

"Hurry!" Julie shouted, eyes tearing up form the gas. It was getting harder to breath. A green mist was starting to form inside the corridor.

Mayumi gave a final tug and almost went flying off Hiiro as the vent came loose.

"Got it! I'll climb in and lift Hiiro up! Then he'll lift someone up, and so on!"

They all nodded. At this point, anything would have sounded like a good idea.

Mayumi slithered into the shaft. It was about three feet tall and four feet wide, just enough room for her to turn around and grab Hiiro's hands. She pulled him up and then turned back around to inspect the vent.

Hiiro flipped around. "Duo! Come on!"

"Julie, you go first!" He pushed Julie over to Hiiro, who grabbed her hands and hoisted her up. She then reached down to grab Duo's.

"Okay Shiris, come on!" He called down. She was quickly lifted up, and then reached down for Trowa. He gratefully gripped her hands and slid into the vent.

"Okay, we're all in! Lets go!" Shiris shouted up to Mayumi, who had already started to move forward.

"I'm going!" She yelled back. Slowly, the line started to move. Mayumi blindly followed the vent. About 50 feet from the opening, the vent curved left.


	14. shoot from the corner

"Do you know where this leads?" she asked Hiiro.

"No. But the vents are all over the complex, so it has to end somewhere."

"I hope it ends soon!" Trowa shouted up.

"'Cause we got company!" Shiris yelled. Behind them, right after the left turn, the end two could hear the doors slid open back in the corridor. Hopefully, the guards would have to wait for the gas to dissipate, but Trowa doubted it. Most likely they had gas masks.

"Shit! Hurry!" Julie cried.

Trowa glanced behind him. A face appeared in the opening of the vent.

"They're coming!" he shouted, crawling faster. Mayumi went as fast as she could. The vent turned right.

"Trowa, are they close?" Shiris whispered to him.

He looked behind him.

"Yeah. We need to get out of here." The men were about 100 feet behind, and closing fast. Now everyone could hear the scratching and clinking sounds of the guard's weapons.

Mayumi almost kissed the vent when she saw an opening in a shaft leading off to the left.

"Okay, I found one!" she called out, and raced for it. Stopping at the edge, she glanced down. Inside was the laundry room. No one was in there.

At the end of the line, Trowa turned around and took out his gun. As a guard turned the corner, he fired.

"Trowa! Are you okay?" Hiiro shouted back, hearing the gunfire.

"Yeah! I'm taking out the guards as they turn the corner!"

Hiiro pushed Mayumi forward. "Go!"

She kicked the grate out and jumped lightly down into laundry basket. Hiiro landed right next to her. Flailing amongst clean sheets, they managed to get out of the basket just as Julie jumped, followed closely by Duo.

"Whoa!" Shiris exclaimed as a bullet shot over her head.

"Hurry, jump!" Trowa urged. More than one guard was turning the corner. Shiris landed lightly in the basket. Trowa fired off one last shot and leapt out, landing next to Shiris.

"Come on!" Hiiro whispered, pulling Shiris out of the basket. They could hear the guards scrabbling towards the opening.

They ran for the door to the laundry room, and the girls flipped their watches to heat mode.

"Its all clear outside," Mayumi said. Voices could be heard from the vent, and then the thud of someone landing in the laundry basket.

Hiiro reached the door and flung it open. They ran out and Hiiro slammed the door shut and locked it.

"It'll take them a few minutes to get out of there," he murmured, and led the way down the hall.

"So where are we going?" Julie asked as they turned down another corridor.

"The only other way out of here," Hiiro replied.

"Which would be?"

"The air shaft."

"The air shaft?" Shiris asked incredulously. "That has to be a vertical shaft!"

"Yes. But we can climb up it. Its not wide."

"Its better then nothing," Mayumi commented. "Just how far away is this shaft?"

"Not far. It's right dow-" a shower of bullets stopped him mid-sentence.

"What was that?!" Julie cried, glancing behind them.

"Apparently, the guards have gotten out," Trowa observed.

"What so we do about the guards? They can shot us easily when we're up there!" Julie exclaimed.

"Someone will have to stay behind or we find another way out," Mayumi replied, turning another corner.

"I have a plan," Hiiro offered. "At each corner, someone will stop and shot a few of the guards. By the time we get to the end, all or most of them should be gone."

"Sounds good!" Duo agreed, "I'll take the first shift."

Julie glanced at him. "Be careful," she whispered, and squeezed his hand. He smiled, stopped, and aimed his gun at the corner they had just passed.

"I'll go next," Julie offered, practically running backwards she was so worried about Duo.

Duo had crouched down and was awaiting the first few guards. As one turned the corner, Duo shot him in the head. Two more went down like that, then another. Duo leapt up and raced down the hall and around the corner. Julie greeted him, waiting for the next group of guards.

"You be careful," he ordered with a grin, rushing past her. She smiled and shot the guard that had appeared. Duo ducked around the corner as more guards appeared.

"_I'm_ next," Mayumi said, wanting to make sure her friend was okay. Soon Julie came rushing around the corner.

"They're catching up!" she whispered, running by.

Mayumi steadied herself and aimed at the corner. She managed to get four men before they all came rushing.

She found Hiiro waiting at the next corner. She nodded at him, and he nodded back.

"I'll go next," Trowa said. He hoped he could finish off all the guards before Shiris had to take a turn.

"There better not be many more, cause we're running out of turns!" Duo observed. The shaft was maybe three, four turns ahead.

Trowa faced the corner and three men came around it. Three shots finished them. Then another two, and a single one. No more appeared for a minute.

"They're all done!" he called to Shiris, starting to run to her.

"I'll stay just to make sure," she replied, getting into position as Trowa ran past.

"The vent's just up ahead!" Hiiro called out. Around the next corner, the five hit a dead end. Down there it was dark, no lights at all.

"The vent starts here," Hiiro pointed to a grate about waist high. "Its where the exhaust from various things goes, so its not going to smell very good."

"That's fine, just open it up," Mayumi commanded, glancing behind her.

"Shiris! Is there anyone?" she called back to her.

"Nope!" Shiris answered. She hadn't seen a single person. "It looks like they're all—crap."

She heard many footsteps heading for her. Many more than before.

"Hurry up!" she screamed back at them. "There's more! I'll hold them off for as long as possible!"

She faced the corner again. A man in a black commando suit appeared with double guns. She shot him once in the head.

"These guys are Elites! Get up the vent!" she shouted to the others. Mayumi kicked the grate in. "Julie, go. Duo next. Then Hiiro, then Trowa. I'll go last." No way was she leaving her friend to face those men alone.

Julie scrambled into the shaft. Inside, the vent was pitch-black except for a thin pinpoint of light several floors up where the vent ended.


	15. Shimmying

She started shimmying up slowly, one foot on each side of the vent. It couldn't have been more than three feet wide, so it was easy to climb up. The metal of the sides was spotted with slits that provided a small amount of friction.

By the time Hiiro had started climbing, Shiris had killed 10 men and they were still coming. She had dodged numerous bullets, and was started to back up to the last corner. The last defense.

"Mayumi! Are they all up?" she shouted.

"Almost! How are you doing?"

"Not so good!"

Trowa started for the corner.

"No!" Mayumi whispered, pulling him back. "She can handle it! If she cant, she'll come around the corner and then we can help her!"

He stopped moving, eyes narrowed.

"Come on! Get up there!" She shoved him into he vent. Reluctantly, he began climbing. Julie was almost half way up.

"Mayumi, get up there! I'll hold them off until you make it up. Then I'll come up."

"No, you're coming too!" Mayumi ran to Shiris.

"Mayumi! What are you doing? Get back there!"

"I'm going to help you."

"Mayumi, go." Shiris commanded. She shot the next man to appear. Mayumi shot the next two.

"No."

Shiris glared at her, but couldn't do anything about it.

"So how long do we keep this up?" Shiris asked after the 30th man.

"Until there is a break in the men." Mayumi answered. They waited a moment.

"Can we go? I don't see anyone on the watch," Shiris commented, glancing at her watch.

Mayumi looked at it. "Okay. Lets make a run for it."

They leapt up and raced for the shaft. Mayumi went in followed by Shiris.

Looking up, they saw Trowa about halfway up. That meant Julie was almost out.

"We're here!" Mayumi called up.

"Shiris! Are you okay?" Trowa called down, fear in his voice.

"Yea, I'm fine!" She replied, happy that he had asked.

"How far up is Julie?" Mayumi asked.

"I'm about two thirds of the way up!" She yelled down.

Mayumi and Shiris quickly caught up with Trowa and the others out of pure nerves. The men could come back at any second, and they were sitting ducks in the shaft.

"So, what—exactly are we going to do when— we get out?" Shiris whispered to Mayumi as she slowly moved one foot and then the other.

"I don't really know. I suppose we should go back to the hotel to get our bags, if they're still there."

"But the Federation will be staking that place out. They'll be expecting us to go back there," Shiris noted.

"True, but I'm sure we can sneak in. I mean, hell, we made it out of here alive."

"Don't count on it!" Julie suddenly shouted back down, having reached the top.

She stared over the top of the shaft again. Pale blue skies and clouds greeted her vision.

"Apparently, the shaft doesn't stop at the ground floor! It extends up at least 100 feet above ground! It was that tall thing we saw when we got out of the van!" Julie yelled down, hair blowing in the wind.

"Can we climb down?" Hiiro asked.

"Maybe, it might be thin enough to shimmy down."

"Can you try it?"

"Hiiro! She might fall!" Duo exclaimed, annoyed at his friend's insensitivity.

"Don't worry Duo, I can try. But if I die, I wouldn't recommend this escape route."

"So not funny! Be careful! If you can't, we can go back down!" Shiris called up, worried as well.

Julie carefully pushed herself up onto the top of the shaft. The wind was strong that high up, and it was hard to keep her balance. The sun had just risen over the horizon, and the sky was lit with colors.

She lowered herself so that her legs wrapped around the tower and she was holding onto the edge of the vent. Then she carefully moved her arms, one after the other, down around the tower.

"Okay, I think if we cling to the tower, we can shimmy down!" She yelled to them, shaking her wind blown hair away from her face. She started inching her way down.

Duo quickly climbed up and hugged the vent after Julie was far enough down.

Back in the shaft, Shiris looked down. She took one hand off the side of the vent and looked at her watch.

"Oh, shit, we gotta hurry it up!" she shouted to the others. "They're coming! And no way in hell am I getting shot in this position!"

Mayumi looked down. Sure enough, she could see shadows at the end of the shaft.

"Two people at a time shimmying down the shaft, one on each side. Lets move!" Hiiro ordered. He quickly went up onto the top of the tower and wrapped his arms and legs around it and started down. Julie wasn't far away, since it was very difficult to hold onto the tower in the wind. Progress was very slow. Trowa started down the other side, opposite of the other three.

"Mayumi, go! They're almost here!" Shiris urged, glancing at her watch again.

Mayumi scampered up the shaft and out into the sunlight, going down the side opposite Trowa.

She was lying across the opening and wrapping her legs around the shaft when the commandos realized that they could shoot up the vent.

She cried out when a bullet grazed the left side of her stomach.

"Mayumi! What happened?" Hiiro shouted from below.

"Its okay!" Mayumi answered, quickly moving away form the opening as more shots rang out. Looking down into the shaft, she found Shiris had crunched herself onto one side of the shaft. She then flung her arms up, gripped the top of the shaft, and hoisted herself out before more bullets were fired. She was thanking her lucky stars that one hadn't hit her when a volley erupted like lava from a volcano out of the shaft. She moved so fast that she lost her footing.

"Shit!" She muttered, looking down. She was now hanging by just her fingertips, which were getting nicked by the bullets shooting up out of the tower. Trowa was staring up at her, bangs blowing in the wind.

She quickly hooked her legs around the side, grimacing as she bent her fingers. Her hands weren't doing so hot either. All knuckles were bleeding, and her grip was getting loser.

"Only 97 feet to go," she muttered to herself as she slid down.

Julie was the farthest, almost halfway down. She could hear the scrape of boots on metal from inside the tower.

"They're halfway up!" she called to everyone.

"Move faster!" Hiiro shouted to her.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" she yelled back, glaring up at him as best she could.

"Do you know how funny we must look?" Duo laughed, braid whipping around.

Julie giggled and almost lost her grip. "Yeah, imagine if someone came along and saw six people clinging to a tower!"

"What are you two laughing about?" Hiiro asked from above.

"You wouldn't understand," Duo replied with a laugh.

"And why not?"

"Because it involves humor," Julie said with a snicker. Hiiro glared at them some more.

""Whoa! Shit!" Trowa exclaimed suddenly, staring at the tower.

"What? What is it?" Shiris asked anxiously, looking down at Trowa.

"A bullet was just shot at my face! Luckily the metal was thick enough that it didn't go through, but-"

A series of bangs interrupted him.

"Yikes!" Duo exclaimed, looking down at an imprint of a bullet that had appeared in front of his stomach.

"Faster! Faster!" He urged Julie. They had maybe 50 feet to go, and the ground looked a long way down.

By know the people inside had caught on that the metal wasn't giving way, and stepped up their attempts.

"They're getting further out!" Shiris warned, a bullet poking though the metal directly in front of the middle of her forehead.

"Ouch!" Julie screamed as a bullet nicked her arm. "They're going through!"

"We're sitting ducks out here!" Duo cried. Julie started to slide down, not caring about the friction burns she was getting. It wasn't a super fast process, but it was faster. The others soon imitated her.

After a moment she checked the ground. "I'm almost far enough down that I can jump!" Julie cried. The ground was about 20 feet down.

"Okay, I'm gonna jump!" Julie said, looking down. She had maybe 10 feet to go. She let her feet dangle, and then let go. She landed with a thump on the ground, but still on her feet. Glancing around, she saw the shack some distance away. Next to it was the van.

"I'm gonna get the van!" she shouted, and started running. A second later Duo jumped down and raced after her.

"Hiiro, can you jump yet?" Trowa called.

"Almost…there!" he jumped and landed lightly, looking up.

"Hurry! Jump!" he shouted to Mayumi as faces appeared at the top of the vent.

Mayumi looked at him doubtfully. Should she trust him?

He motioned again. Hell, why not. She let go and fell into his arms. He immediately propped her up on her feet and started running to the van. So much for a dashing hero.

Mayumi looked up. Trowa was almost within jumping distance, and Shiris was right behind him. The men on the top were gesturing down at them, unsure of what to do.

Trowa jumped down, and gestured to Shiris. She jumped and landed in his arms. Unlike Hiiro, he held her for a moment. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, smiling up at him. Mayumi turned away and headed for the van.

The men up top had finally decided to shoot at them, and bullets began to rain down. Trowa put Shiris down and they sprinted for the van, praying the commandos were bad shots.

Inside the van, Duo had hotwired the controls and Julie was riding shotgun.

The van screeched up to Hiiro and Mayumi, who flung open the door and jumped in. Not bothering to close the door, Duo raced to Trowa and Shiris, who flung themselves in amid a chorus of bullets.

Shiris managed to slam the door shut, and bullets riddled the door.

"Hang on tight, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Duo shouted, but the others couldn't hear him.

"I'm guessing this is gonna be a bump-p-p-y-y-eee!" Shiris cried as Duo swerved all over the place. The passengers in the van couldn't see anything. Up front was another story.

"They're sending out cars!" Julie exclaimed, looking in the mirror. Behind them, three vans were trailing them. Duo shoved the pedal all the way down and streaked onto the dirt road that led away from the bunker.

"Where are we going?" Julie asked, hanging on for dear life to the door handle.

"Back to your hotel, right?" he answered.

"I guess so. But we have to lose the commandos quickly."

"Don't worry," Duo replied with an evil grin. "I'll use their own tricks against them." He reached over Julie into the glove compartment and took out a remote.

"Bingo!" he said, and pressed the red button. In the mirror, Julie saw a thick wall of metal slid up behind them. Two of the following vans were smashed to pieces when they ran headlong into it. Only one emerged.

"All right!" She gave Duo a high five and a huge smile. Because of that, the spies in the back were thrown around even more as Duo swerved off the road, distracted by Julie.

"Hey!" Mayumi exclaimed, pounding on the divider between the back and the front. "What are you doing?"

Julie and Duo vaguely heard them.

Mayumi sat back and looked around. Or at least, she tried to look around. She couldn't see anything. It was pitch black in the interior of the van, even though it was a sunny day outside.

"Ouch!" she head Shiris exclaim as Duo turned a corner a bit fast.

She had hit her stomach against something, and it stung painfully.

"Jesus, Duo, what are you doing up there?" she shouted angrily.

"Hiiro, what's in here?" Mayumi asked.

"Some items for binding prisoners, some junk, nothing useful," he replied.

No, just stuff that hurt a lot when you slam into it, she thought wryly.


	16. TO JAPAN!

"How far away are we?" Julie asked, looking in the mirror. The last van was still tailing them.

"We have about 45 minutes till we get there."

"Umph!" Mayumi grunted as a particularly hard turn threw them all over the place. Then Duo decided to go over a series of speed bumps at a high speed.

"Wh-o-o-a-a!" Mayumi cried as she went left, right, up and down.

"Ooo…." Shiris moaned after they stopped moving erratically.

"Trowa? Is that you?" Hiiro asked, pushing at the body lying over his chest.

"I don't know, is that you under me?" Trowa replied, feeling the waist of the person under him. "Nope, this is definitely a girl,"

"I'm on top of you, Hiiro," Mayumi said, rolling off him.

"So are you Shiris?" Trowa guessed, poking the person he was on top of.

"That tickles!" she giggled, wiggling under him.

Over in the opposite corner, Hiiro and Mayumi had sat up against the wall.

"Are they doing what I think they're doing?" he muttered, completely disgusted.

"Most likely. And it's not that bad," Mayumi replied, slightly jealous. Of course the guy she falls for is the stoic, non-speaking, I-don't-believe-in-love guy.

Up front, Julie let out a squeak as she looked out the window.

"Duo, drive faster, they're right next to us!"

Duo glanced out her window and ducked just in time to miss a shower of bullets sprayed at his face.

"Julie!" Are you hurt?" he cried when he swerved out of the line of fire.

"No, I'm fine. But I wish they'd give us some warning before they do that," she muttered, lifting her head up.

"We need to get rid of them. I think there are some weapons in the back, but I'm not sure," he said while attempting to stay ahead of the tailgating van.

"That's our best option." Julie agreed, and pounded on the divider.

"Guys! We've got company! We need you to search for the weapons that are in there, open the door, and kill them!" she screamed.

On the other side, Hiiro and Mayumi jumped as the wall behind them shook. Then they all heard Julie's voice.

"What did she say?" Shiris asked after Julie was quiet.

"Something about guns and a van," Hiiro replied. The two of them had not heard the whole order.

"Are there weapons back here?" Mayumi asked.

"I didn't think so. But I guess Duo thinks so."

"Let's find them, fast. I think we have to shoot the van that's next to us," Trowa suggested, feeling around on the floor.

Shots rang out against the side of the van.

"Faster is better," Mayumi urged, frantically searching.

"Got one," Hiiro said, having found a pistol.

"Me too," Shiris added, finding the same type of gun.

"Okay, I'll open the door and we fire. They won't be expecting it, so we'll have the advantage," Hiiro ordered, moving over to the door.

"Okay, I'm here," Shiris said, feeling on the wall for the door handle. She touched Hiiro's hand.

"Okay, you two take cover."

He slammed the door back and immediately found the driver's window. Shiris, blinking furiously in the sunlight, pulled back the safety, aimed as the driver's head, and with a cry threw herself away from the door as bullets whipped past her head.

"They obviously knew we were going to do that!" she shouted to Hiiro, who had also flung himself out of the way. If they hadn't, they would have been killed.

"Obviously. So we need a new plan," he muttered, angry at being outmaneuvered.

Shiris stuck her gun out the door and randomly fired. An answering fire caused her to withdraw.

"Any ideas?" she yelled. The wind whipped in from the open door, sending the inside of the van into chaos. Scraps of cloth, paper, and light materials flew every which way, some out the door. Mayumi and Shiris were trying to keep their hair away from their face.

"How about we use that?" Trowa said suddenly, pointing upward.

On the ceiling, previously unable to be seen, was a hatch.

"Perfect!" Shiris exclaimed, getting up and inspecting it.

"Shiris, give me your gun. Someone hoist me up and I'll take them out from above," Mayumi said, holding out her hand.

"Be quick, or they'll discover where you are," Shiris murmured, handing over the gun. Mayumi nodded and looked at Hiiro.

"Come on, I'll stand on your shoulders."

He went over and she flung open the hatch, her hair immediately flying up and out of the opening.

Swiftly hoisting herself up onto his shoulders, she peered out over the top of the van. So far the neighboring van was unaware of her. She took careful aim at the wheels of the car, praying she could take out at least two.

She squeezed off three quick shots and hit the two wheels closest to her. With a bang, they deflated and the van swerved off the road into the ditch on the side.

After firing off a last few shots, Mayumi retreated back into the van.

"Alright! That was great!" Shiris cried as her friend reappeared.

"That was excellent work," Trowa agreed.

"Nice shooting," Hiiro murmured under his breath.

"Why, thank you Hiiro!" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm so glad you approve!"

"Nice job! We got 'em!" Julie shouted back from the front. She turned back around to face front. "Right. Now to get back our stuff,"

"They might have taken it already, you know," Duo said.

"Good point," Julie agreed. "Great, now what? I never even though of that. Do we go back to the hotel?"

Duo grinned. "Up for a challenge?"

Julie smiled happily. "Of course!"

"I know where they would have taken it, if they did."

"Where?"

"It's a separate facility, way over in Japan. There they take the stuff apart, try and figure out how it works and why."

"We have to get it back," she said worriedly, her eyes narrowing. "They might find out where our base is."

"That's exactly what they would try to do. I'm guessing it's on its way there right now, so if we hurry, we might be able to get to it before they completely take it apart."

"Right! To Japan!" Julie exclaimed as Duo got on the highway towards the airport.


	17. Cracking

After two hours, the other four were still sitting in the total darkness, trying to figure out where they were going. They had vaguely heard Julie yell something back to them, but hadn't understood it.

"Weren't we supposed to go back to the hotel?" Shiris asked, confused and annoyed. Both her butt and back hurt from the cold, hard floor and all the jarring.

"I think its safe to assume that we are not," Mayumi sighed, having had enough of the van as well.

"Do you two have any idea where Duo could be taking us?" Shiris asked the two boys. Trowa was leaning on the wall next to her, and Hiiro was next to him.

"No idea. I thought we would go back to the hotel as well," Trowa said.

"You three didn't have any bags at the hotel, did you?" Hiiro asked suddenly. His voice had turned harder.

"Of course we did. Do you think we go without clothes for days?" Mayumi muttered.

"No, I mean equipment. Computers. Things like that."

In the dark, the girls' eyes opened wide.

"Oh no…" Shiris murmured, "We did…"

"We had a computer with our connection to Jane," Mayumi finished, fear starting to creep up. And she thought things were starting to look up…

"Then I know where Duo is going. And you better pray we get there in time."

"And that would be?" Mayumi questioned.

"Japan," Trowa supplied. "It's where they take all enemy equipment, break it down, and learn how to use it."

"So in other words, they could find Jane," Shiris muttered.

"Yes."

"Okay, so are we heading to the airport? 'Cause we have to get that laptop back."

"I think so. It's been about two hours, so we should be there soon," Hiiro replied.

The van came to a stop.

"Nice timing," Shiris smiled, blinking in the sunlight as the door slid open.

"Hey! Are you guys okay?" Duo asked cheerfully as he helped Shiris out. She stood up straight for the first time in three hours, and bones cracked in places she didn't even know she had bones.

"Oh, yeah, we're fine, aside from all the bumps, and jolts, and swerves, we're fine," Mayumi grumbled, following Shiris and stretching with a grimace.

"Just be glad I got you here in one piece," Duo replied, smile not leaving his face. Mayumi began to wonder if it was pasted on there.

"So you know we're going to Japan?" Julie asked as they started walking towards the airport. Duo had parked in the farthest area of the enormous parking lot, just to make sure many people didn't see them. It might look strange to see six teenagers getting out of a van riddled with bullet holes.

"We figured it out. How much time do you think we have?" Hiiro asked, walking at the head of the group. He seemed to naturally take charge. /a lot like Mayumi/ Julie thought as she walked behind him.

"If they got your bags at 3:00AM this morning, left on, oh, lets say a 5:30 flight, takes 15 hours to get there, and three hours to get it to the lab, I'd say we have about 12 hours." Duo guessed.

"You have no idea how much time we have, do you?" Mayumi asked.

Duo shrugged. "It sounded good!"

"And just how are we going to pay for this?" Trowa asked as they entered the international terminal.

Everyone stopped. All around them people busily ran this way and that, hurrying to catch their flights out of Russia. Directly in front of them were the check-in counters, the line moderately long.

"Anyone have a credit card?" Hiiro suggested, feeling around in his pockets.

"No, something called the Federation took everything I have," Mayumi muttered, folding her arms across her chest, a frown on her lips.

"I have three dollars and…27 cents," Duo chipped in after emptying his pockets.

"Okay, this is not going to work. You can't ask your agency for help, since you aren't working for it anymore, and we can't ask ours for help because we have no way of contacting it. What do we do?" Mayumi asked pessimistically, walking over and sitting in a chair.

The other two girls followed her, while the boys remained standing. Julie put her head in her hands. "How could we be so stupid?" she whispered. How had a simple mission gone so wrong? Where had it started to go wrong? She didn't want to admit it, but once they had met the boys, it had gone downhill from there.

"This is all your fault," Mayumi said suddenly, as though reading Julie's mind.

"What?" Hiiro muttered, anger creeping into his face.

"You heard me! Once we met you, everything went wrong! You messed up my and Shiris' mission, you kidnapped us, you caused our stuff to get taken!" she exclaimed, standing up.

"Wait a minute! _You_ interrupted _our_ missions!" Hiiro yelled back. Mayumi clenched her fists together, unable to speak.

"She's right," Julie added quietly. "You did cause all this. But I'm not blaming you."

"Yeah, maybe we did do this. But you had your share of it too!" Duo told her, coming to his team's aid.

"Maybe we should go our separate ways, try to figure this out on our own," Mayumi said angrily.

"I completely agree," Hiiro muttered, his voice low and menacing.

"Wait! What are you saying? That after all this we just split up?" Duo cried, then lowered his voice as people going by began to glance at him oddly. "We just split up? Why?"

Hiiro and Mayumi erupted with complaints against each other, Duo and Julie began to argue about separating, and Shiris and Trowa just stood there.

"We're starting to crack," Shiris whispered sadly. She had known it was inevitable and had hoped that they were strong enough to get through it together, but they obviously needed help. Everyone had not slept in days, nerves were strained, and pride was hurt. Not mention the anxiety coursing though the girls about the laptop.

"We do have to find a way to get on a plane to Japan," Trowa said quietly to her, "the next one leaves at 10:20."

She glanced over at the clock on the wall, which read 7:23.

People began to stare at the heated argument. When someone stopped altogether, she and Trowa stepped in.

"Stop it!" Shiris hissed, stepping in the middle and putting a hand on Mayumi and Hiiro's shoulders.

"Calm down," Trowa ordered Duo and Julie.

"You're acting like little children, and people are staring!" Shiris muttered.

The two looked at the curious passerby and turned slightly red from embarrassment.

"Now, if we want to do this, we have to work together. We are not separating; that would only make it harder." Trowa said.

"And we are both to blame for where we are now. Arguing won't help anything. We are in a situation, and lets act like the people we are. We take charge, figure it out, and complete it." Shiris added, glaring at both of them.

Mayumi looked away while Hiiro glared back, his bright blue eyes looking like pointed icicles.

"So do you want to keep arguing and getting no where fast, or figure out a way to get on this plane?" Trowa whispered, releasing Duo and Julie.

They looked down, feeling very stupid.

"Of course we want to get on the plane. Sorry about the outburst, Duo. I think it was nerves and strain talking." Julie apologized, smiling slightly.

"Hey, me too. I didn't mean anything I said." He smiled widely, putting his arm over her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug.

"Hiiro? Mayumi?" Shiris asked coldly, not releasing them.

"Fine," Mayumi said after a moment, relaxing. " Fine. Lets do this."

Shiris looked at Hiiro. He avoided her glare, and then jerked out of her grasp. "Fine. But we can't even get on the plane; we don't have any money."

Shiris sighed thankfully. She had been afraid for a moment that he would just walk away.

"About that part, I think I have an idea," Julie whispered, subtly pointing to a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY. Her eyes glinted mischievously.

Duo eyes immediately lit up.

"I get to be the pilot!" he said excitedly, heading for the door, the others slipping in after him.


	18. Captain Duo

Inside they found the men and women's locker rooms, and went to the respective sides.

"Okay, pick a locker, any locker!" Julie exclaimed, running up to one and deftly picking it with a paperclip from the floor.

Inside was a crisp, clean pilot's uniform.

"Alright! I get to fly!" she cried, immediately stripping.

Shiris and Mayumi, with a bit more trouble with the lock, became flight attendants.

"Okay, this person must have been the tinniest adult ever," Mayumi commented after she had finished dressing. Her suit was a dark blue, with the thin skirt ending midway up her thighs. An extra-tight fitted jacket with a high collar in the back buttoned down the middle and covered a blue blouse. A thin line of baby blue lined the hem of both he skirt and jacket. A pair of dark blue high heels was at the bottom of the locker, and Mayumi had to squeeze her feet in extra tight.

Shiris had come out with the same outfit, the skirt reaching slightly farther down than Mayumi's. She smoothed the jacket down, slid on her last shoe, and fit the blue pointed hat snugly on her head.

"Very nice,' she murmured to the mirror. Then she turned and looked at Mayumi.   
"Good thing I didn't get that outfit," she said with a laugh, trying to imagine what it would look like on her if it looked that tight on Mayumi.

Julie came out dressed in dark blue pants and a looser jacket, providing for easier mobility when flying the plane. She had let her hair down to fit the blue cap over her head, and it fell softly over her shoulders. She grinned as she pinned on her ID badge. Luckily, they were without pictures; only a bar code that had to be scanned.

"I might just become a pilot," she said happily, twirling in the perfectly fitting suit, as the others tossed their used clothes in the trashcan.

In the men's locker room, things were not progressing as well.

"That's the third damn empty locker!" Duo cried in frustration, slamming the door shut. Trowa was currently in the middle of changing into a flight attendant's uniform that was a bit too big, and Hiiro was looking miserable in his. Each uniform consisted of dark blue pants with a black belt and a short sleeve blue polo shirt tucked into the pants. Flat black shoes and a cap finished it off.

Hiiro's pants were up to his ankles and his sleeves almost to his elbows.

"Why don't you try to find another one?" Trowa suggested, holding back a smirk.

"No, the next one's mine!" Duo cried, flinging open another door. If they didn't hurry, they'd miss the next flight, which left in 2 hours. They needed time to find the real crew and make sure they were late for the flight.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pulling out a pilot's suit. "I am so lucky!"

He practically ripped off his clothes in his haste to get into the uniform. In one minute, he was confidently putting his cap on and pinning his wings to his lapel.

"Gentlemen, are you ready?" he asked in a haughty manner, swaggering around.

"Why him, of all people, to get the pilot suit? He's like a little boy! How did he ever get to be a spy?" Hiiro muttered, pulling at the second button of his shirt, which was about to pop off.

"Lets get out of her before someone comes in and he blows the whole thing," Trowa whispered, heading for the door. Hiiro quickly followed, Duo walking behind him, constantly looking back at the mirror and smiling at himself.

In front of the two rooms they met the girls, who had been waiting for about 10 minutes.

"There you…are?" Mayumi halted as she saw Hiiro, trying to breath, and Trowa, trying not to trip over his pants. She bit her lip. Shiris let out a giggle, and Julie burst out laughing.

"My, you two look…interesting?" Julie giggled. Shiris covered her smile as Hiiro started glaring.

Trowa thought all the girls looked liked poster girls for the airport. Their uniforms fit perfectly, if not a little too tight in Mayumi's case, and the skirts revealed their fit and shapely legs. He

"Ladies, are you ready to accompany the most handsome pilot to his plane?" Duo said, coming up to them, smiling debonairly. Shiris could have sworn Julie's eyes turned to hearts when she caught sight of him. Then Julie smirked.

"How about accompanying the most _beautiful_ pilot to _her_ plane?" she countered, smiling and showing off her badge.

"You're a pilot too? Alright!"

"You can be my co pilot anytime," she laughed, walking out the door. Duo looked incredulous.

"I don't think so! You can be _my_ co pilot anytime!" he exclaimed, racing after her.

The other four followed them out the door, looked for what terminal they were leaving from, ran up to Duo and Julie, and pointed them in the right direction.

They immediately started walking confidently, as though they were real pilots.

"We better find the real crew quickly," Mayumi murmured as they stood in the security line, Hiiro in front of her. She smiled slightly at his small uniform, then had to stop herself from staring. The shirt revealed his rock-hard chest and the short sleeves showed off his toned arms. Apparently, she wasn't the only one to notice, judging by the looks women were giving him. She noticed Shiris and Julie were about to smack two women who were practically drooling over Trowa and Duo.

As for her, she was pleased with the stares she was getting form the young-and some old- men in the line.

One by one they slid their badges through the machine and went into the F terminal, smiling politely at the security personnel.

"No baggage?" one said to Mayumi as she walked through the metal detector.

"No, not this time. Short flight,' she fibbed, "and then I come right back home."

The man nodded and moved onto Julie.

"Okay, gate F-27," Trowa said, checking the departure screen again once they had gathered back together.

"The crew shouldn't be there yet, the plane hasn't even landed," Shiris commented, looking out the large window as they came up to the gate.

"So how do we get them?" Julie asked. Mayumi sat down to relieve the pressure on her feet, which were crammed into her small shoes.

"We have to find the locker rooms down here. When the plane arrives, the replacement crew will most likely go into the rooms to freshen up, go to the bathroom, etc. The flight is 14 hours long."

"Yeah that's right. Great, I have to stand for 14 hours." Shiris muttered.

"Hah, we don't!" Julie proclaimed, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Oh, shut up."


	19. settling in

note: I have no idea how much time it takes in real life to fly to Japan, and I know for a fact that my time scales are off, but that's not so important, so enjoy! (If anyone does have the right time and can figure it out, please tell me!)

15 minutes later, the group spied another cluster of crewmen, four men and two women, going down the hall. They had tons of bags, indicating a long trip ahead.

"Okay, lets see if that's them," Mayumi ordered, getting up. They followed them down the hall, able to catch snippets of their conversations. Judging from the word 'kimonos' from the women and 'hot springs' from the men, they were heading to Japan.

"Alright!" Julie whispered as the group stepped into the locker rooms.

"Lets go," Hiiro said, slipping in behind the unsuspecting attendants.

The boy followed the four men, who were laughing and joking, completely oblivious of the three people following them.

Two stopped at the lockers, two went into the bathroom. The boys darted back behind a wall when the men split up.

"I'll take the two in the bathroom. You two get the others. Don't let them see you." Hiiro commanded, and stealthily crept past the lockers and into the bathroom.

Trowa took the one on the left and Duo the one on the right. The left man fell without a sound as Trowa chopped him in the neck.

Duo's turned at the sound of his friend falling, started to open his mouth, and then slammed it shut as Duo punched him in the jaw from behind.

The two turned as they heard a toilet flush and them the sound of something hitting the floor. Footsteps, another door opening, another body falling. Hiiro walked out, straightening his new shirt.

"This one fit better," he said defensively when they glanced at him.

The girls paused outside the women's locker room. Inside they could hear the woman laughing and gossiping, apparently excited about the trip to Japan.

"Okay, you two go get them. I'll guard," Mayumi said, motioning them forward.

Shiris went to the right and Julie to the left, moving in behind the two chatting women.

At the sound of heels on the floor, Shiris' target turned around.

"Hello, can I help-" she fell from a backhand punch to the jaw, her eyes opening wide a split second before contact. Julie's target never even had a chance to turn around before she was taken down from behind with a roundhouse kick.

Landing lightly, Julie grinned. "Pants are better then skirts," she commented.

Shiris rolled her eyes. "Lets get them out of sight."

They dragged the two women to the showers, put them inside one, and pulled the small curtain shut. It just covered the protruding shoes.

"Perfect fit," Julie said, turning to go.

They met up with the boys and headed back to the gate.

"Okay, now make sure you act like pilots. _Adult_ pilots," Mayumi warned Julie and Duo sternly.

"Of course. Don't worry about us. You just act polite." Julie replied.

"Did you hear that Hiiro? PO-LITE. Be nice. No scarring little children for life," Duo warned seriously.

Hiiro glared.

"Show time," Shiris murmured as the plane rolled into the gate just as they walked up.

"Oh, you are early!"

They whirled around. A pleasant-looking older woman walked towards them, smiling, and went behind the ticket counter.

Then she frowned, her eyebrows turning down a little bit.

"Tatiana?"

All the girls panicked, wondering if that was them, and not wanting seem suspicious by glancing down at their name tags.

"Isn't Tatiana supposed to be on this trip? She's been talking about it all week," the woman said confusedly.

"Tatiana? Oh, right, she had to cancel. Something about the flu. I talked to her earlier, when they called me in to replace her," Shiris replied, smiling sadly and shrugging.

"She was extremely upset," Julie added. "She had to cancel at the last minute."

The woman nodded in understanding, and the smile returned to her face.

The doors to the plane opened, and passengers began slowly exiting, dragging their bags behind them. One young girl narrowly missed running over Julie's heel with her roller bag.

"Well, then, I hope you enjoy the trip, Bertha!" the woman said to Julie, who returned the smile as a customer came up to the desk and the woman turned away.

"Bertha? I was hoping for something more exotic," Julie complained, making a face and discreetly looking at her badge.

"Yep, I'm Bertha."

"I'm Alice," Shiris said, happy with it.

"I'm Jane," Mayumi said, not really caring what her name was.

"I'm Luigi," Hiiro muttered, angry at his name.

"I'm Sven," Trowa added, pleased.

"And I'm Frieder. Yan Frieder." Duo finished with a flourish, eliciting a smile from the girls.

The flow of people from the plane began diminishing, and soon the flight attendants started exiting, looking very tired and worn out.

"Okay, lets go," Julie said, leading the way to the door as the pilot came out.

She nodded at him with a smile, which he returned, then she walked to the plane, followed by Duo, then Mayumi, Shiris, Trowa, and finally Hiiro.

"See you later!" Duo whispered as he and Julie went up the stairs to the cockpit. The plane was a 747, complete with the two passenger levels and baggage level underneath.

Shiris smiled at them and turned left to the coach class's food area to find the assignment sheet.

It turned out that two attendants needed to cover first class, two covered coach. In the end, she and Trowa went upstairs to first class, while Hiiro and Mayumi were in coach. Needless to say, that did not make Hiiro too happy.

He and Mayumi stood silently as the passengers began arriving, nodding at them every now and then.

Shiris and Trowa went upstairs and greeted the first class passengers cordially, smiling brightly.

Inside the cockpit, Duo and Julie prepped the plane and went though all the checks. All the spies had learned how to fly every sort of plane and helicopter, and the process came naturally to them.

"Welcome aboard, this is Bertha your captain speaking, and we're all glad to have you aboard today," Julie said smoothly over the intercom after everyone had been settled in their seats and the checks finished.

"Our estimated time in-flight is 14 hours and 32 minutes. The local time of arrival in Japan is 12:00AM tomorrow. Please sit back and enjoy your flight!" She flicked off the intercom and leaned back, letting Duo coast the plane onto the runway.

"Do you think we'll make it?" she asked, putting her hands behind her head.

"I don't know. I hope so, 'cause this was a hell of a lot to go through for nothing," he replied, but with a smile.


	20. Hiiro the flight attendant

LATER

"Where the hell are the newspapers?" Hiiro muttered angrily, furiously searching through the various cabinets for the elusive New York Times.

"In the top cupboard on the right," Mayumi replied, putting food trays on a rolling cabinet, ready to serve lunch. The flight was almost two hours into duration, and already Hiiro was going crazy. He was not made to serve people.

He got up from his crouched position and grabbed the paper, stomping off. Mayumi shook her head sadly and began passing out the trays.

Shiris was enjoying herself upstairs, chatting with the passengers and enjoying the movie playing on the screen in the front. Even without sound, it was interesting. She was standing in the center aisle behind the last seat, watching the movie, when Trowa came up next to her.

"Should we start serving food?" he asked slipping his arm discreetly around her waist.

"Food? O, right, I completely forgot! We have to give out the menus and take orders first. Oh, and I should bring something to Julie and Duo. They're probably starving," she replied, squeezing his hand, then heading for the stairs. Trowa watched her lovely figure retreat, then went up to the cockpit and shut the door behind him.

"Hey, how is everything?"

"Just fine! It flies itself!" Duo replied, eating a bag of peanuts.

"Yep, no problems here! How about out there?" Julie asked, thinking particularly about Hiiro and Mayumi. She had taken off her jacket and it was lying across the seat behind her. Duo had un-tucked his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and thrown his cap across the room to the floor.

"Fine up here. Hiiro and Mayumi are downstairs, so I have no idea what they're doing."

"I don't think I want to know," Julie laughed, throwing up a peanut and catching it in her mouth.

"I came to see if you were hungry, so-" he paused as they started nodding furiously.

"Okay," he said with a smile, "I'll bring you a little of everything. I'll be right back," he quietly closed the door and headed down stairs.

He found Mayumi wheeling down the row with the food, calmly handing it out to the passengers, but not smiling what so ever. Some of the people seemed a little afraid of her, which he didn't blame them for. With her powerful figure and fierce green eyes, she looked like an Amazon ready to do battle with the next person to ask for ice in their drink.

Hiiro looked like he was supposed to be helping her, but was instead trying to get into arguments with as many people as possible.

"No, you said tomato juice, and here it is!" he slammed a cup down in front of a bald business man.

"No, sir, I said water. Now please take this cup away," the man replied edgily.

"No, I will not. You asked for it, you got it."

Hiiro returned to the cart, now a few rows ahead. Within seconds, another argument broke out.

"What do you mean 'not enough ice'? There's plenty!"

Trowa couldn't help but laugh at his friend's predicament. He had never imagined Hiiro, the tough, perfect spy to be handing out drinks as a flight attendant. Apparently, neither did Hiiro.

But it was worth it, if it meant they could get to Japan. Although he wasn't sure what they would once they got the laptop back. Maybe the Alliance would hire them? He sighed and grabbed a few trays from the cupboard and headed back upstairs to the famished pilots.

Shiris was thinking the same thing as she hunted through the cabinets for the menus. She liked having a set plan in mind, having the future clearly mapped out. She figured once they got the laptop, they could either head back to the base and go from there or head directly to the mission that Jane had mentioned the night they had contacted her from the mall, if it was still possible. The Minister mission was still unfinished, and she didn't like to leave loose ends hanging. But where would the boys factor in?

Mayumi finally had to tell Hiiro to go back to the food area after a little child threw his juice all over Hiiro's shirt, and she was afraid for the child's life. Hiiro was not good with little things, and she could tell he was about to throw juice right back at the kid.

"Hiiro, go back to the food area," she hissed, then smiled thinly as she handed out another drink.

"No. I am going to do this."

"No, you are not. You can't handle it. Now go."

Without another word he stomped off, a little thankful and a whole lot pissed. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't keep his temper with little children who threw drinks on people. Who could?

As he walked towards the front of the plane, he saw Shiris rummaging through the cabinets, hopefully not searching for the newspapers. She'd never find them.

"Hello," he greeted coldly, and sat down in one of the chairs that was attached to the wall.

"So you finally got kicked off drink duty?" she grinned, opened another cabinet, and then frowned.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the menus are?"

"Third cabinet on the right," he replied, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

"Thanks!" she said brightly, grabbing a handful. As she turned to go, Hiiro said, "How do you do it?"

She turned back, confused. "Do what?"

"Stay so calm. Trowa does it too. Like back in the airport, when we all were fighting. You two were perfectly fine."

She shrugged, unsure herself. "I don't know. I guess we're more patient? More passive?"

"Does it affect the abilities of your job?"

Now she felt like she was at the yearly physiatrist appointment.

"No, it doesn't. In fact, it helps. It keeps things in perspective."

"I see. I figure I'll know things are hopeless when I see you two loosing it."

Shiris blinked. Was that a joke? She tried searching his eyes, but they were like looking into a mirror—she couldn't see beyond the surface, and she doubted she ever would. That boy had a surface layer thicker than any she'd ever seen.

"I hope it never comes to that," she murmured, and left.

Hiiro closed his eyes again. He had told the truth about her and Trowa loosing it. And something in her eyes told him he _was_ right-once they lost it, it was the end of all hope.


	21. Discovered

Julie and Duo leapt on Trowa as he returned bearing trays of food.

"Mmm, tans o muc, twa!" Duo garbled, mouth full of food. Julie simply smiled and nodded.

"You hungry?" she offered, holding out a tray. His stomach immediately let out a grumble, and he sat down behind Duo.

"Thanks."

Once he was done the warm chicken, mushed spinach, and thoroughly disgusting mashed potatoes, he leaned his head gently against the wall, gazing out the window. The sky was getting dark, and a few stars were twinkling into sight. The last thing he saw was a flash of light jet across the sky and then extinguish before sleep overcame him.

"Look, he's asleep," Julie whispered, gesturing to Trowa, smiling gently.

"Wouldn't mind joining him," Duo commented, slouching down in his seat even more.

"Maybe I don't want to be a pilot," Julie agreed, staring at the stars flashing in front of them.

"So what do we do after this?" Duo asked in the pervading silence.

"I don't know. Right now I'm just worried about the laptop." Julie was only concerned with the present; she didn't like having the future mapped out, she liked having it open, free to do as she chose.

"Maybe you can join the Alliance?" she suggested.

"Yeahh, maybe. That would be really cool. We could work together, the six of us. We could get any mission done!"

"Yeahh! And we'd have fun too!"

"Tons of it!"

They both smiled, imagining the adventures and journeys they would go on together.

Trowa felt someone shaking him, but refused to get up. He was too tired, his back hurt, his feet hurt, and his shoulders were now hurting…

"Trowa!"

He shot up, bumping his head painfully into the consol above him.

"Ouch! What? What is it?" he said wordily, glancing around. He found Julie and Duo grinning at him, and Shiris, hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Nothing's wrong, but I do need help cleaning up the food. We land in half an hour," she answered, waiting for him before she went out the door.

"Did I sleep for that long?"

"Yep. But don't worry; nothing went wrong. Oh, except for Hiiro falling flat on his face when we hit some turbulence, and Mayumi getting thrown up on by a baby. Other than that, it was fine," she grinned again, picturing their indignant faces.

"Damn, I wish I had seen that," Trowa smiled, picturing it as well.

They made their way slowly down the aisle, picking up the trash as they went, asking everyone to put their tray tables back in the arm rest and bring their seats to their upright and locked position. Then they strapped themselves into the two chairs in the back in preparation for landing.

Downstairs, Hiiro and Mayumi slowly made their way down the two aisles collecting the trash, and then buckled themselves in.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain again. We are about to land, so if you would please make sure your chairs are in their upright and locked positions and your tray tables are up, we will have you in Japan shortly!"

She flicked it off and gripped the wheel.

"I'll land," she said to Duo, steering the huge plane gently to the ground. The landing gear came down, the flaps lifted up, and the engines slowed down. They swiftly coasted to the ground, and landed with a light bump. Then the brakes kicked in, and they were pushed forward as the powerful engines reversed and they slowed down.

"Alright!" she exclaimed, steering to the gate indicated by the radio control. "We made it! Now, are you sure you know where this place is?"

"I'm sure. We've been there a few times."

Julie got on the intercom again as they wheeled into the gate.

"Thank you for flying, we would love to have you again. Please enjoy your stay in Tokyo, Japan!"

Mayumi and Hiiro unbuckled themselves and stood as the passengers made their way off the plane, Hiiro getting a few nasty glares.

"I think you might have caused a few derogatory letters," Mayumi snickered as the little boy went by and stuck out his tongue.

Hiiro glowered at the boy, who looked coolly back.

A few seconds after the first class and coach had emptied, the other four spies came down.

"Okay, let's get a car, new clothes, and find the place," Mayumi said, leading the way off the plane.

They entered into a very oriental looking terminal. There were glass cases set up everywhere with different gorgeous kimonos inside, some pretty fans, and even one or two samurai suits. Then, as they walked further down the hall, posters advertising the latest technological advances bombarded them.

"Wow, talk about two totally different ends of the spectrum," Shiris murmured, reading something about a computer that fit in your pocket, but opened to the size of a TV.

"Lets get a taxi," Julie suggested when they reached the end of the terminal.

"Yeahh, sure, but how do we pay for it?" Hiiro asked. "Lets get a car form the parking lot."

Shiris turned away and sighed as they began arguing.

Across from her was an advertising screen, only it wasn't an advertisement being shown. It was a story about an airport, the one they had just come from in Russia…

"And now for this breaking story," an announcer began, "it appears that six crewmen were attacked earlier this morning at the Moscow airport in Moscow, Russia, and two pilot uniforms and four attendant uniforms were stolen from the locker rooms. Police are looking for six people dressed in the stolen uniforms that may be impersonating pilots and attendants and have just landed at the Tokyo airport."

As she walked closer, she could discern six badges being shown, and then the woman they had talked to by the gate. The hair on the back of her neck stood up in fear and she sucked in her breath as she heard the woman start talking.

"There were six of them, three girls and three boys. I remember one boy well, because he had a long braid."

Duo whirled around as he heard what had just come from the screen.

"One of the girls was a pilot, or should I say dressed as a pilot," the woman continued.

Julie stared at the screen. Trowa and Hiiro opened their eyes wide as a picture taken by a security camera showed them walking out of the men's locker room. Their faces weren't clear, since they were looking at the ground, but they could tell it was them by the way the clothes fit. Hiiro's outfit was clinging to him and Trowa's was hanging off him.

Then a shot of Mayumi and Shiris going through the door that led to the plane. Once again, their faces were unclear, but they knew it was themselves.

"They seemed like such nice people, but I knew something was wrong when Tatiana wasn't there. I had talked to her that morning, and she had been fine. I didn't believe that she had the flu for one minute. But I will admit, the tall brunette was a very good liar,"

"Not good enough," Shiris muttered, pulling her cap to cover her face more as a group passed by them, but not pausing to look at the TV.

"How did they find out?" Trowa asked.

In response, the camera panned to six people standing by the gate dressed in attendant uniforms. Four had bruises on their faces.

"Great, the real people woke up. Fabulous. How did we screw that up?" Julie muttered, removing her ID badge and slipping it into the trashcan.

"I didn't even see him," one man began. Trowa recognized the man he knocked out.

"I managed to see him. He had on a flight attendant uniform, and he had shocking blue eyes,' another added.

Hiiro cursed, clenching his fists.

"I saw my attacker, too. It was a woman in an attendant's uniform with short, dark brown hair, very tall."

This time Shiris uttered an expletive.

"I just want to know why we were chosen to be attacked," the last man said. "I mean, we were going to Japan. Why didn't they just buy a ticket? The plane didn't crash, they weren't hijacking the plane or anything."

"Yeahhh, we just didn't happen to have any money with us, we abandoned our agency, and we can't contact the other, that's why," Duo muttered, and tucked his long braid into his shirt.

The newswoman returned to the screen, mike in hand.

"The security at the Tokyo airport is on its highest alert. You can be assured that these criminals will not get away, but will brought to justice."

"Aw, cut the crap!" Duo exclaimed, furious. As if things weren't bad enough, now everyone was looking for their face.

"At least they just found out about it and we were able to get off the plane before they found out. We better get out of here, though," Mayumi commented, also ditching her ID badge. "Lets get that car," she said to Hiiro.

They quickly made their way down the terminal. The car parks were in the terminal across from them, and they needed to pass by security to get to it.

As they neared the group of armed guards standing at the junction of the terminals, they stopped.

"There is no way we can make it through there without causing a shootout," Julie realized.

"So we just blow through. Hope they're bad shots. Plus, they wont shoot at civilians." Mayumi suggested, ready to go for all or nothing.

"Is there any way we can get clothes?" Shiris asked, eyeing a bathroom.

"Maybe…but it'd be difficult to knock out six people without a seventh finding out," Trowa said hopelessly.

"Okay, here's what we do. Mayumi, they never got a good look at you form the security cameras or eyewitnesses. You go to the bathroom, change clothes, and distract the guards. Get them to follow you someplace else, we'll slip by, and you meet up with us at the buses." Hiiro directed, whispering quietly to them.

"Sounds good. I'll be right back."

Mayumi went into the bathroom, following a young woman who looked about her size, dressed in blue jeans, sneakers, and a green camaflogue short sleeved shirt.

When Mayumi returned, she had also donned dark sunglasses and a bandanna.

Discreetly nodding at the group huddled over against the wall trying not to look extremely suspicious, she first went past the guards, who didn't give her a second glance. Then she doubled back, pretending she had seen the imposters fleeing down the hall.

"Officers, I think I saw those impersonators, the ones that were on TV!" she exclaimed, "hurry! You have to catch them! What if they attack someone else?" she added, trying to get a damsel in distress voice. It came out sounding like an order, which worked just as well.

"Which way did they go, miss?" one burly man asked, apparently the leader of the troops.

"That way! Towards terminal A!" she commanded, pointing down an adjacent hall from the one that the others were in.

As the men turned to go, the five began speed walking across the open room and down to terminal D.

Julie and Shiris had almost made it all the way across, walking quickly, trying to keep their poise. Hiiro was behind them, head down, hair in front of his eyes. Only Trowa and Duo were left, the others were up ahead, not looking back or to the sides, only looking straight ahead.

Duo was next to Trowa, head down, hands in his pockets, when a shout caused him to turn his head to the right and look up. It turned out someone had spilled his hot coffee, and he relaxed. Then he felt something soft against his arm, and looked down. His braid was loose and out of his shirt.

Panicking, but trying not to draw attention to it, he shook his head to get it to the other side, away form the security guards. Trowa had seen it, immediately knew what could happen if the men saw it, and switched sides to cover it.

He wasn't fast enough.

"Hey! They're over here!" a guard shouted, racing towards them. "Halt! Stop right there!" he ordered, raising his machine gun, aiming with a steady hand.

Duo and Trowa broke into a run, ducking as bullets whizzed over their heads. They surely would have been killed if Mayumi had not tackled the man and kicked his gun away, bandana flying off, sunglasses smashed into the ground as she stepped on them in her hast to get away.

"Hey! She's one of them!" the guard called from the ground, causing his team to return in full force.

Trowa and Duo swiftly caught up with the others, while Mayumi raced toward them, not far behind.

"I hate heels!" Julie shouted, not caring if anyone heard. She knew she would eventually sprain something.

"Just keep running," Duo warned, the guilty braid whipping behind him.

"Duck!" Mayumi shouted frantically from behind them as a guard stepped out of a door behind the main group and started firing.

Julie dove to the ground, her cap flying off, a bullet puncturing it in mid-air. Shiris landed next to her, her brown eyes flashing and chest heaving.

Mayumi leapt on the man before a second round could be fired and wrenched the gun out his hands and whipped it back into his head. But this was a tough guy-he retaliated with a karate chop to the neck, which Mayumi deftly deflected, countering with a side kick to the head. He was dazed, and she moved in for the kill. With a cry, she whirled around, her foot connecting with a solid thud with the man's jaw, and he hit the ground. She grabbed the gun and aimed back down the hall.

She couldn't get a clean shot of the other men, since panicked bystanders were running in every direction but away.

She kept the gun but continued running towards her friends, who were now all up and running as well.

"How far to the parking lot? And what do we do when we get there?" Julie asked, panting. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, and there were no moving sidewalks to speed their trip.

"Not far, just around this bend, I think," Hiiro answered, leading the pack. He was the lucky one-when more guards lunged from a doorway, he was already past them.

With a grunt, Julie was thrown to the ground as a huge man lunged at her. Trowa was grabbed from behind and lifted off his feet, while the third man tackled Duo.

Shiris immediately attacked the nearest man, who happened to be grappling with Duo. Hiiro leapt at the one trying to get a grip on Julie, and Mayumi raced in and lunged for Trowa's adversary.

Shiris finally managed to get the guard off of Duo after she kicked him repeatedly in the side, the high heels making the job much easier. She helped Duo up, and they proceeded to finish off the man.

Just as Hiiro had shoved the guard off of Julie, a burst of gunfire sped over his head. He looked up and down the hall, afraid the other guards were firing. To his surprise, he found two of them lying on the ground, blood gushing from their legs.

Trowa and Mayumi looked up as well, and saw Shiris and Duo standing with guns. Duo with the machine gun, Shiris with a small automatic handgun, one smiling in satisfaction, one with lips pressed thinly together.

"Don't move, or I wont be nice!" Duo called to the remaining five men, who were helping their disabled comrades.

The guard who had leapt on Trowa tried to go forward, but a single bullet to the knee stopped him, Shiris' gun smoking.

"You too," she ordered, standing with her feet slightly apart, arms extended in front of her.

The four on the floor got to their feet, each taking a gun from the wounded or unconscious guards.

Slowly they backed up, facing back down the hallway, making sure no one moved.

When they hit the glass doors leading outside, Hiiro pushed them open, and they filed out, still not talking their aim off the guards, who were standing, looking furious and humiliated.

"Now what?" Duo whispered out of the corner of his mouth. He and the others knew that the second they left, the men would be after them.

"Someone go get a car," Trowa said.

"I will," Julie volunteered, and swiftly left.

She went into the deserted underground parking lot, trying to find a car that would fit all six of them.

She ran in-between the cars, occasionally splashing through a puddle of dirty rain water. The lot was not clean by any standards, and the lights were dim. It smelled like stagnant water. She felt like she was in a horror movie, right at the part where the naïve girl is in a creepy place, being chased by a monster, and the monster jumps out—there! She found a black SUV with an interior of seven leather seats.

Taking out the trusty paperclip from the locker rooms, she picked the front door of the car and jumped in.

Hotwiring was also on her list of job skills, although it did take her a few minutes to find the right wires. She managed to get the windshield wipers going, the lights to go on, and the doors to lock before she got the engine to start. With a rev, she steered the car back to the doors, tires squealing on the pavement.

"Get in," she called as she pulled up with a jerk behind the others, who had not moved.

One by one they climbed in, Mayumi and Trowa in the way back, Shiris and Duo in the middle, and finally Hiiro in the passenger seat.

As he was getting on, he never took his eye off the guards, even as he closed his door. With the window rolled down, he made sure they didn't move.

"Okay, you have to move very fast. Do not stop for anything," he warned Julie, who nodded.

"_Now!_" he shouted, and she took off, smoke flying up as the tires sped forward. Quickly spinning around and looking out the back window, Mayumi could see the guards immediately move forward—then they were gone, behind a pillar of concrete as they swerved around the corner and up into the twilight, blazing past the ticket booth.

None of them noticed a small, black Honda pull out of the parking lot behind them, its lights off.


	22. A new player

Julie sped onto the highway indicated by Hiiro, maintaining a steady 80 miles an hour, the sliver skyscrapers flying by in the background.

Mayumi leaned against the comfy seat and went to sleep, Trowa soon following her example. Julie and Hiiro had to stay awake, Hiiro dictating and Julie driving. Shiris discarded her jacket and snuggled in the corner, against the window, while Duo used the jacket as a pillow.

Two hours later, just as the sky was beginning to show the faintest touch of color, Julie pulled over. If she went any further, they would be killed when she fell asleep.

Wearily, she and Hiiro jostled Duo and Shiris awake, since they were the first people they saw when they opened the door.

Shiris immediately got up, helping them to wake Duo. It was agreed that she would drive, just in case he fell asleep again.

Julie sighed happily as she slid against the window, staring out at the scenery. A black car was next to them. Wondering why his lights were off, she slipped into sleep.

Up front, Shiris yawned and pulled back onto the highway, looking for the exit Duo had mentioned. He was currently blinking the sleep out of his eyes and rubbing them, occasionally yawning.

She flicked the turn signal on and took the exit for the town of Kyto.

At four in the morning, as she merged onto a small highway, she looked in the rearview mirror. A black car was behind them, its lights off.

/what an idiot/ she thought, watching it carefully. The driver was probably drunk.

"This is it," Duo said suddenly, sitting up. Shiris drove by a large gray building, a sign for a law firm posted outside the door.

"I'm guessing it's beneath the building?" she said, driving around the block and pulling into a parallel parking spot.

"Yeah, the basement. Most high-tech place you'll ever see."

"And heavily guarded?"

"Oh yeah. Never seen a better-protected place in my life. I was there a few times, not enough to know the total layout of the place, but I did see invisible alarms, undefeatable locks, poison gas, electric shocks, and elite soldiers, just to mention a few things we'll be up against."

He said this, amazingly, with a grin on his face, apparently looking forward to the prospect of a painful and tortuous death.

"Are you excited?" Shiris asked as they jumped down and went to wake up the others.

"Yeah, a little. I always get excited before a challenging mission. Especially since I was just almost killed by these people. I'm looking forward to revenge."

Shiris smiled as she called to Mayumi and Trowa.

After much grumbling and snorting (on Hiiro's part, much to Duo's amusement), the four crawled out of the van and into the now-bright morning air.

"All cities look exactly the same," Julie complained as she pulled her hair back up into a ponytail, gesturing towards the buildings surrounding them. The others were inclined to agree-lots of tall, ugly buildings made from metal, some from glass, a few areas of grass poking in between the office buildings, and traffic lining the streets.

They were currently on the opposite side of the block from the law office, where the base was supposedly contained.

"Do we just waltz in there?" Julie asked when they began walking around to the side of the building. In the reflection of the window next to them, Mayumi saw a black car pull up behind their SUV, the driver staying inside.

"Guys, we have a friend," she said, her voice low, not turning her head, "that car was behind us when we were on the highway."

"You mean the one without lights?" Shiris said worriedly, remembering the car she had seen.

"Hey, I saw one without lights too," Julie murmured confusedly, "who could be following us? No one knows where we are."

"Maybe its one of the guards? Or the police?" Duo suggested hopefully. They heard a car door click shut quietly behind them in a lull of the noise from the cars.

"Okay, so what do we do, now that he's following us?" Trowa asked as they turned the corner.

"Split up. Three stay behind and follow him, the other three head to a different building."

"Perfect." Mayumi agreed.

As though they had been working together for years instead of two days, the three walking in the back immediately veered off to the right, ducking in between two buildings and crouching under the fire escape.

Mayumi, Duo, and Trowa kept walking.

"Should we follow him or tackle him?" Julie asked quietly as they waited, their shoes sinking in the mud-it must have rained recently.

"We follow him. There is a chance he isn't following us, and we need to watch it after that incident at the airport. We are still in uniform, you know," Hiiro answered in a monotone voice.

"Oh, right," Julie said as she looked at the other two, still in the blue suits.

She sighed and sat back on her heels, carefully pulling her pants up so they didn't get muddy.

She was itching for action, now that she was awake. This person following her scared her a little bit. Not because they couldn't handle him, but because it meant someone knew where they were, which meant they might have already moved the laptop, which meant their base could still be found.

She glanced up quickly as footsteps turned the corner, hurrying slightly. They were the light, quick steps of someone trying to be cautious and quiet; not the normal, heavy walk of a passerby.

As they leaned further back into the shadows, a black shape passed the opening moving swiftly and surely. He turned his head, looking directly at them as he passed by, and Shiris saw his features clearly.

His blonde hair was thick and wavy, falling almost to his chin, a few bangs covering one side of his face. His face was masculine, with a sharp, angled jawbone and a straight but pointed nose, and his build looked slight but strong through the tan trench coat he wore, hands in the pockets. In his mouth was a cigarette, held loosely by full lips.

But Shiris was stunned by his eyes, cold, gray eyes, swirling as though made of mist, and she felt she knew him. She had no idea why she would feel that, but she _knew_ she had seen him somewhere, a long time ago. The eyes were the trigger, the link, the past. In her mind a vision rose up, a grinning face, half of it taken up by mist, swirling at her, towards her, for her…

Then he was gone, sweeping by, his footsteps hurrying on. She blinked in the sunlight that leapt in after his shadow was gone.

"Lets go," Hiiro whispered after a moment, waiting for the footsteps to fade.

Julie peeked around the corner and saw the man hurrying across the street, the collar of the trench coat up around his neck. A few yards up, Mayumi and the others disappeared around the corner of the opposite block.

Shiris, Julie, and Hiiro followed at a leisurely pace, afraid of being caught. The stranger knew how to follow someone professionally, which meant he could spot someone following him.

"Who do you think it is?" Trowa whispered as they headed onto the main street. People began passing them, a few jostling them. Most were women with shopping bags, having hit the most fashionable stores in the town.

"I have no idea. My guess is the Federation." Mayumi replied, narrowly missing a biker on a mission.

"Yeah, maybe, but then what are we doing here? They would have moved the laptop, not sent someone to follow us." Duo argued, then flipped off a driver honking his horn as they crossed the street.

"Maybe. Or maybe it's someone who wants to help us. The Federation would never send someone to simply follow us, they would be sent to kill us," Trowa said.

"Good point. Okay, lets duck in here and find out," Mayumi said, walking into a grunge clothing store.

It wasn't very crowded, only a few teens were browsing the racks of cheap clothing, which consisted mostly of torn jeans and ripped shirts.

"We can grab some new clothes too," Duo said, running a hand over a rack of black shirts with a various patches sewn onto them.

Mayumi led them to the back room where the dingy bathrooms were located.

"Okay, so we get him when he comes in. Be quick, I don't want any bystanders getting involved," she added when they tuned the corner and sidled against the wall. The boys nodded, muscles ready to spring at the next sign of movement.

Outside the shop, the man paused and took a long drag of his cigarette, blew the smoke into a ring, and flicked the spent cigarette away. Then he walked past the shop and around the corner into an alley.

"Okay, what the hell is he doing?" Julie muttered form across the street, the passing cars hiding them form view.

"Come on, let's go," Hiiro said, following the man.

"You mean down the dark alley? Don't you watch movies?" Shiris exclaimed as she navigated through the standstill traffic to catch up to him. "You know, the part where the hero thinks he's so invincible that he follows the bad guy, who is invariably leading him on, and gets caught and beat up, or caught and _killed_?"

Hiiro didn't reply.

Shiris made a frustrated noise and turned to Julie for help, who shrugged helplessly.

"We might as well go just to help him not kill himself," Julie whispered. Shiris frowned as they came up to the alley.

When they looked down into it, they couldn't see a thing except for a large puddle of water directly in front of them. Beyond that, the street melted into black.

"Okay, I can't see a thing. Lets go get the others," Shiris whispered fiercely.

Down at the end of the alley the stranger turned to face them, hidden in the darkness, his element.

He surveyed his followers at his leisure. There was the boy, about 19, who looked fairly tough to beat. His muscles showed he worked out, and his eyes, the icicles, he called them, were hard and deadly. He would be a minor challenge.

The girl in pants with her hair pulled back, she was very pretty. Her blue eyes sparkled in the reflected light from the sun, dancing in their sockets. She was tall as well, and her arms firm and toned. She would put up a fight, but he had no doubt a simple move on his part would bring her down.

The final girl disturbed him. She was as tall as the boy, her short hair loose and wavy. Her body was trim and fit and she was standing with her feet slightly apart, looking cautiously around. But it was her face that startled him-he knew her. The large brown eyes and high cheekbones, the full lips and thin eyebrows. This was a face from his childhood, a face that was important. He was looking forward to killing her and putting his thoughts to rest.

It was unfortunate that he wasn't allowed to hurt them.


	23. Introductions

"Fine, go get the others," Hiiro finally allowed, a scowl on his face. Shiris glared at him and ran into the store.

A few minutes later she reappeared, rubbing her collarbone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you!" Duo was saying, constantly feeling her shoulder to make sure it was okay. "I was expecting the man, you know? We were waiting for him, and then you came dashing around the corner—"

"Duo, its fine, it doesn't hurt at all. Don't worry about it," Shiris assured him, although the bone was killing her. He had hit hard, and his hard was _very_ hard.

"So where is he?" Mayumi asked, immediately assessing the situation and finding it unfavorable. This was a perfect ambush spot for the stranger, and they were at a great disadvantage.

"He's down there. Now that we are all together, we can go get him," Julie explained.

"Good. Then lets go," she replied, starting forward.

A little splash, and the group saw a cigarette floating in the puddle in front of them, its tip smoldering.

"You won't have to go anywhere to find me," a male voice said lightly from the shadows.

The man stepped into the light and the puddle, his foot disturbing the smaller ripples created by the cigarette.

The three that had never seen him were surprised. He didn't look like a killer-in fact, he looked like he belonged in a band, or in a fashion magazine. Julie got a better look at him, and saw that he was taller than all of them, and looked about 23, 24. He smiled almost cockily at them, offering his hand to Mayumi.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Damian, and I'm here to help you get your laptop back."

The group was floored.

"To help us?" Mayumi said cautiously as she took his hand, which he shook once and then released.

"Yes. I work with the Alliance as part of the Japan sect."

"Japan sect?" Julie said, immediately distrusting the man. He may look nice, but she was getting a very bad vibe from him.

Mayumi, on the other hand, was willing to accept his help. She knew about the Japan faction, and when he produced legitimate credentials and the actual code of the base in Japan, she accepted him.

Shiris wasn't sure, but right then he was their best option. After the description of the base from Duo, she wasn't sure they could do it without help.

"So what do you plan to do?" Julie asked, trying to trip him up, to make him slip somewhere in his explanation.

"I know the codes of the doors to the lab, where your laptop would be held, as well as how to avoid the little traps they have set up. I've been here three years, all of which have been devoted to gathering information on this very base."

"Really. I've never seen you hanging around," Duo said with a slight tone, not trusting him either.

"Do you really think I would come here myself? I don't think so. I get my information from informants." Damian replied coolly, looking slightly condescendingly at Duo, who in turn disliked him even more.

"So lets get going then," Hiiro said.

"Good. But we can't go in there all together, they'll get suspicious. We have to go two pairs of two and one pair of three. You two, go in first," Damian pointed at Hiiro and Mayumi, who were standing the closest to the street. "When you get in there, go past the security guard, and head for the elevators. We'll meet up there."

As they turned to go, Julie ran up to them. "Are you going to trust this guy? Look at him! He's wearing a trench coat! Why did he have to lure as all the way out here to talk to us? Why have you never seen him before? Why is he here if Jane doesn't even know what happened to us?" She demanded, whispering fiercely under her breath. She gripped Mayumi's arm.

"Tell me that! Jane doesn't even know we are here!" she hissed slowly and pointedly.

"How do you know that? You know how news travels fast in the spy world; she could have gotten wind of the news report. She would surely recognize us, track us to Japan, and go from there. Think, Julie. He's even shown the proper papers. And the code! How could he know that if he isn't legit?" she returned equally as harshly, a little angry at Julie's outburst. Damian was the best thing to happen to them yet, and she wanted to act quickly.

Julie glared fiercely at Mayumi, her blue eyes icing up as Mayumi's stared coldly back.

"Just promise me you wont trust him," she muttered finally, letting her go. "Promise me."

Mayumi said nothing as she and Hiiro left for the building.

Julie turned back to the group, her fists clenched and eyes still icy.

During the argument the others hadn't moved, Trowa and Shiris being a little embarrassed and Duo gazing askance at Damian, who was calmly flicking his lighter on and off.

Shiris was still trying to place his face, but having no success. She would get little images, many flicking across her mind at once, but couldn't remember them. She watched him as he played with the lighter, a constant motion, never once stopping. She slowly felt that the lighter was used for something other than lighting cigarettes, and she shivered slightly.

Then he stopped with a click, and looked up.

"Okay, you three next," he ordered Duo, Trowa, and Julie.

"No way." Trowa said immediately, refusing to let Shiris go alone with Damian.

"Yes. Go, now," Damian replied in the same sure voice, with the same cool smile.

"Look, why don't you go in by yourself? I'll go with her, you follow alone." Trowa said, walking up to Damian, his eyes turning to solid emerald.

Shiris looked at Damian, trying to get a feel for him, if was legit. He seemed to have all the pieces put together for an Alliance agent, and he even knew the code to the base. But Julie mistrusted him so much. But then again, she was intensely curious about him and why he was so familiar…

"I'll go with him, Trowa, you go with the others," she said firmly, looking up.

"What? No, Shiris. We don't even know-"

"He had the code. He has the papers. He knows the base. I'll be fine." Something in her voice caused him to back down, if reluctantly. He knew she didn't trust him. So why was she going with him? Did she hope to find something out, something to prove he was an imposter? He hoped not. That could cause her to get killed.

"Trowa," she repeated when he didn't move away.

"Shiris, come on! You come with us," Julie said desperately, almost sure Damian was no good.

"Julie, go. And take Trowa with you. We should listen to him, he knows what he's talking about," she said, hoping to make Damian think she was on his side. Trowa realized that, and didn't push her anymore. With a glare at Damian and eyes that said DON'T HURT HER OR YOU'LL BE KILLED, he left with a frustrated Julie and Duo.

Damian watched as the three left, immensely pleased. He had hoped to get the girl, Shiris, to himself. Although he was surprised she had agreed so easily to his plan. It was completely unnecessary that she go with him and not him by himself, but that was all for the better.

Shiris stood a few feet away, not looking at him. She was afraid of his gray, swirling eyes.

"We'll wait a few minutes, just to be careful" he said, startling her.

"Sure," she said quietly, now unsure of why she had wanted to do this. He didn't show the slightest hint of knowing her, and she didn't know what to ask.

"So where are you from?" she finally asked, glancing at him quickly and then looking down at the puddle in front of her. She was facing the street, he next to her, and she could see the three others making their way across the street.

"From the US," he replied in his moderately deep voice, and smiling at her. "And you?"

"The same."

"Whereabouts?"

"The east," she answered evasively. He laughed at her answer, recognizing her hesitation to tell him too much. She was smart, this one.

"Still don't trust me?" he said, looking at her, a grin on his face.

"To be honest, I actually do trust you," she lied smoothly, smiling at him.

"Its always good to be honest."

"I think so too."

"So is that why you stayed with me alone? You're boyfriend was obviously worried."

She blushed at the mention of Trowa and turned away. "Yes. I think we should follow your orders, since we obviously need help with this mission."

"Good thinking. And I'm glad you trust me."

She sneaked a look at him, and saw he was looking out towards the street, no sign of suspicion on his face. Maybe she could get him to think she was on his side.

Damian was torn. She sounded honest, and she looked like she was telling the truth, but he knew she was a capable liar and a spy. But he also wanted to find out who she was and why he felt slightly nervous around her.

"We should go," he said suddenly, starting forward, Shiris following quickly. He moved quickly and surely, very light on his feet. She had to hurry to keep up with his long stride.

They reached the moldy-looking building and stepped inside to cool air-conditioning.

In front of them was a security guard stationed at his desk, a tough looking man of about 40, with long hair pulled back in a ponytail.

He nodded at them as they went by, both smiling kindly. Damian had turned down the collar of his trench coat and put the lighter away.

As they turned the corner into a corridor with plan gray walls, they could hear voices up ahead.

"…don't trust him…Shiris…worried…" it was Julie whispering, but the shape of the corridor provided excellent acoustics.

Damian smiled to himself. That one, Julie, he thought, was going to be a problem. She was the only one so far who didn't trust him at all. The one with the braid would have to go with her too. He smiled, wishing he could see their faces when they were caught. But that would come later.


	24. First Mistake

"There you are," Julie exclaimed as they came into sight, Shiris unharmed.

"Yep. See? He didn't do anything," she said, smiling at Damian, who was leaning against an elevator, hands back in the pockets of his coat.

"Come on, get in.," he said as the door opened.

"The elevator doesn't go down to the base, does it?" Mayumi asked as they all managed to fit in the small elevator.

"No, but if I do this," he pressed the buttons for the floors 817263 in rapid succession and the elevator began moving, none of the lights lit, "it does. It's the code to get to the base. Now, there are three guards when we reach the entrance room, and we have to be quick, or else they'll set off the silent alarm and we won't even know it."

"That won't be difficult," Hiiro commented as they continued descending.

"Just how far down are we?" Julie asked after a moment.

"About 38 floors. They take the highest precautions."

"I guess so," she replied, then immediately stood still as the elevator began slowing down.

They all tensed, except for Damian. He seemed to be totally in control all the time, never getting nervous or upset. He was leaning nonchalantly against the wall when the doors opened silently and the others rushed out, searching for the guards.

Instead of three, they found ten.

"Can you not count?" Julie cried as she raced after her target, which was in turn running for a door on the far side of the large room. The walls were painted white with a gray border, and there was only one door. Five guards lined each side of the room, and a small box was on the right wall. Duo sprinted for the guard who was heading for the box, which was he guessed was the alarm.

Each person took a guard, leaving four extra, who all helped out their fighting comrades.

Duo, Julie, Mayumi, and Hiiro had to deal with two guards.

Julie whipped a backhand punch at one guard, ducked, and came up with an uppercut to the jaw on the second guard.

Hiiro jumped up and kicked both in a round house, then landed and punched with both hands, catching both guards in the jaw.

Duo dove for the man heading to the right and they crashed to the ground, Duo managing to hit the man once before he was hauled to his feet by the second guard and slammed to the ground. He leapt up, ignoring the pain in his face, and attacked both, preventing them from getting to the box.

Mayumi took care of hers nicely, neatly hitting them both in the stomach and then kicking their feet out from under them.

Trowa and Shiris made easy work of theirs, having only one to deal with.

In the midst of the havoc, the spies had no idea where everyone was, especially Damian. He seemed to have disappeared.

Then, suddenly, just as they were all finishing up the guards, one of Mayumi's got back up from the floor, holding his gun out in front of him.

"Don't move!" he gasped, holding his stomach with one hand, the other shaking furiously. But she didn't dare move, at least not until he was closer. She put her hands up and simply backed away, not worried. She had her move all planned out.

Just as she was about to execute it, Damian stepped in behind the man and pulled something out of his wrist.

Shiris saw light reflect off of a thin wire band in Damian's hands just before he lifted it over the oblivious' guard's head and slipped it around his neck, pulling tight.

He had moved like a shadow, expertly choking the man to death without ever making a sound. The man died quickly, and Damian let him drop to the floor when he stopped moving, the wire snapping back into his wrist.

Julie looked closely at his wrist, but it was covered by the trench coat. She was startled at how fluidly and lightly he had moved, and at how strong he was. The guard had been large, and Damian was not the buffest man she had seen.

"So now do you trust me?" he whispered in her ear. She jumped and turned, coming face to face with the misty eyes and grinning lips. She caught her breath—how had he moved so fast? He had been strangling that man less than ten seconds ago, and now he was all the way over here.

"How did you do that? What did you use to choke him?" she hissed, backing away. This only made her mistrust him more. Now they wouldn't even be able to keep track of him if he decided to turn on them.

"That's a secret of mine. It works nicely though, doesn't it?" he addressed the silent group, all eyes turned towards him.

Mayumi and Hiiro were even more pleased. He had killed one of the Federation, which in their minds proved his worth. They would be able to use him, and he appeared legit.

Duo and Julie realized they could be in real danger if he turned on them. They wanted nothing more to do with him, which their scowling faces showed plainly.

Trowa and Shiris were still unsure. He had killed one of the Federation, and he was helping them. Even if he had given the wrong information about the guards…

"You said there would be three guards, not ten," Trowa pointed out as Damian turned towards the lone door.

"Yes, I know, sorry about that. My information is constantly changing, and I haven't been able to update that part of it for a while now. But you did fine, so any other changes shouldn't be much of a problem."

"More changes? Just how much about this place do you know?" Julie demanded in a sharp voice.

Damian turned his head to look over his back at her furious face.

"More than you do," he replied, his voice getting a slight edge to it for the first time since they had met him.

But he couldn't help that. The girl was getting on his nerves, and he didn't like that. He had managed to sway the one boy and girl, and was apparently about to do the same to Shiris and her friend, but Julie and the other boy were hopeless. They were intent on hating him, for what reason he didn't know. He was charming, handsome, and helpful.

He sighed inwardly and started for the door again.

"Come on, we have to get going. But there are two ways we can do this. One, we all go one way, but if we are all caught the mission is finished. Or we can split into two groups and have double the chance of getting to the laptop. There are two ways to reach the room. One is shorter but more dangerous, the other longer but slightly easier to navigate. The choice is yours, but hurry."

Hiiro and Mayumi quickly decided upon the split way.

"Like he said, we have double the chance of getting it back," Mayumi said assuredly, folding her arms. She would not change her mind.

"Yes, but how do we know the other group is safe? What if one group is caught? They might be killed because they don't have enough people to defend themselves!" Duo exclaimed.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. We're all trained assassins, and we are all willing to give our lives in the service of our job. This isn't different from any other mission. We take the smart way, not the safe way." Hiiro replied in a stern and hard voice.

"Yes, but what if he's trying to thin us out? Make it easier for us to be caught?" Julie returned, siding with Duo.

"Will you two stop it? That is enough! He has proven himself. He killed a Federation, and he led us here," Hiiro hissed, getting frustrated with the two.

Duo glared at him.

"Shiris, Trowa, what do you think?" Julie said desperately, her eyes pleading with Shiris to side with her.

"I don't know, frankly," Trowa answered, shrugging. "All of you are making good points."

"I agree. Any way is fine with me," Shiris agreed, looking at the floor. She wished she could have a definitive answer, but Damian was too elusive. She was torn between who to believe-Julie or Mayumi.

"If you had to pick one way to go, which would it be?" Duo demanded.

Shiris and Trowa looked at each other.

"I guess his way," Shiris admitted quietly. "It's true, we would have double the chance,"

Julie's face fell, as did Duo's when Trowa nodded once in agreement.

"Then it's settled," Hiiro said, pleased. He and the others went over to Damian, who was still leaning against the wall.

"Let's split into two groups," Hiiro said.

Julie and Duo wanted to cry out, to stop their friends from following his orders, but they couldn't. They still valued their friend's opinions, and maybe they were totally wrong about Damian. Maybe he was a good guy, and they were reading him wrong.

But deep down inside, Julie knew no good could come of this.


	25. Split

"Excellent," Damian said, eyes sparking up. Julie could have sworn there was a glint of evil in their depths.

"Okay, you, with the braid, and you," he pointed at Hiiro, "and Shiris come with me. The others will go the other way. I'll give you detailed instructions on how to get there. You will take the shorter way, since it is faster and less complicated, but more heavily guarded. And there will be some traps that might be new, so be careful as well. I don't know everything that is down here."

Damian had been choosing these groups ever since he had first seen the spies. He had carefully observed them, seen which ones stuck together, which ones didn't get along. He had decided upon the line-up based upon the fact that Hiiro and Duo were arguing a lot, as were Julie and Mayumi. That would make the mission much more interesting and a lot more difficult. They would be on edge, their nerves geared up, consistently fighting about how to deal with something. And Trowa and Shiris, he wanted to split them up. They seemed to get along well together, and might ruin all his carefully and elaborately thought out plans.

"Are you sure about the groups?" Duo asked worriedly, looking at Hiiro, who looked ready to strangle him. "I mean, couldn't I go wi-"

"No. These are the groups, like them or not. Now are we finished arguing? The more time we waste, the more likely it is we will fail to retrieve the laptop. And we all know what that means."

"Do we?" Julie countered, still glaring at Damian. "Do you? Or are you leading us on, keeping us away from the laptop?"

Damian took a deep breath and kept his itching fingers away from his wrist and the lovely, thin wire concealed there.

"I'll give you the directions to the longer route," he said slowly to Mayumi, who nodded. Julie scowled.

He proceeded to give a detailed list of turns and obstacles their group would be facing. At the end, there were no questions. Trowa could tell he wasn't making them up on the spot—he knew what he was talking about.

"Thank you, we'll leave now," Mayumi said assuredly to Damian, leading Julie out with her, Trowa following.

"Be careful!" Duo called to Julie, who was walking backwards, her eyes fearful. Mayumi turned the corner. Julie gazed at Damian's face as she followed and, just before he disappeared, he smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing.

Julie panicked.

"Mayumi! We have to go back! Trowa, they're in danger!" she cried desperately, pulling on Mayumi's hand. It was like a vise, and didn't budge an inch.

"Julie, stop it. You're acting like a child. Nothing is wrong, and we can handle this. Stop it!" she hissed as Julie pinched her.

"Trowa, you believe me, right?" she pleaded, looking at the handsome boy behind her.

He looked uncertain. "I don't know. He seems fine…"

Julie starting muttering to herself as they turned right. Now they were in a darkened corridor with white walls, a door at the end of the hallway.

"We go through there, right?" Trowa asked as they approached the door."

"Yes. Inside we have to take care of the guards and take out the security cameras without them seeing us."

"I little difficult."

"Yes, but not impossible. We can look through the window on the door before hand, maybe even lure the guards out."

"You really are just like Hiiro," Trowa said, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Mayumi asked sharply, carefully releasing Julie, who jerked her arm away and moved over to the other side of Trowa.

"I mean you go about things in a systematic, step by step away. Everything has to have a plan, numerous ones preferably."  
Mayumi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes, I suppose he and I are alike in that respect. Although, I hope I show a bit more emotion than he," she smiled slightly.

Trowa smiled and nodded.

"Guys, shouldn't we be worried about that room and not personalities?" Julie muttered petulantly. She couldn't stand the idea that her friends didn't trust her, and was in a very bad mood.

"Julie, on the other hand, shows too much emotion," Mayumi grinned, looking over at Julie.

"Shut up. At least I show some. I'm not an ice queen. People like me."

"Better to be an ice queen than a clown. You don't have a tactful gene in your body."

"God, you are so conceited! I don't see how Shiris and I put up with you!"

"I don't see how Shiris and I put up with you!"

"Hey, hey! Calm down! They'll hear us," Trowa whispered, putting his hands out between the two furies. He began to suspect this would be more difficult than predicted, if the two girls couldn't work together.


	26. Waiting

Back in the first room, Hiiro, Duo, and Shiris waited until the others went out of sight before they turned the opposite way.

Damian led them down a deserted hallway. At the end of the corridor, he pointed out a thermostat.

"These hide the security cameras. I suggest that we take them out when we see them, it'll make the mission much easier." To demonstrate, he ripped the consol off the wall. With a sputter, thin wires fell into view, sparks still flying. Inside the broken thermostat was indeed a camera.

"How did you get this job?" Hiiro asked as they continued and turned right into another corridor. At then end was a fork in the road.

"I had been with the agency for about a year when Jane approached me and asked if I would head the Japanese sector. So I did, and I soon became aware of this facility. I spent the next three years researching it and finding the layout."

"Why didn't you expose it?" Duo asked pointedly.

Damian glanced at him impatiently, but answered, "Because I just finished compiling the research, and we can't risk losing the laptop in the confusion of a raid. If you want conformation, ask Jane."

"Yeah, what a great idea! Shiris, why don't you go get the laptop? Oh, wait, I forgot, we don't have it!" Duo exclaimed sarcastically, stopping as the corridor split.

Damian's nerves were stretched to breaking point. Why had he decided to go with Duo? It only caused him more aggravation.

"This way," he said through clenched teeth, pointing left. The new corridor led to a pair of double doors, beyond which lay a massive control center.

"Fabulous, now what?" Duo muttered.

Shiris agreed with Duo—it looked impossible. There were at least 15 guards patrolling the rim of the room. On one wall was a huge computer screen with various images on it, and three technicians working in front of it. On the opposite side was another console, only this one was hooked up to many smaller computers. The whir of fans could be heard from behind the walls. Security cameras were everywhere, and those were only the ones that they could see.

Hiiro began to doubt this plan. Four against 20 was not good odds, even for them. These guards were armed with a machine gun in hand, a knife on the leg, and a PPK in a holster. Body armor protected them, and they all had walkie-talkies.

"And how are we supposed to do this?" Shiris asked, defeat in her voice. She leaned against the wall, next to Hiiro.

Damian smiled in satisfaction.

"You have a plan?" Hiiro said incredulously.

"Yes." Damian loved the looks they were giving him. He knew exactly what they were thinking. Hiiro couldn't believe he had thought of a plan, Duo was sure the plan would get them caught, and Shiris was wondering what the plan was.

"You see, the other group should be reaching their first room sometime around now, if they are on schedule. In that room is a security camera, which is also connected to the lighting system. The backup lighting system. If they do as they are told, and destroy it, the power will go out. And voila, we have the element of surprise!" he rested his head against the wall, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.

The others stared at him, unsure of what he had just said.

"So…we wait for the lights to go off?" Shiris asked, slipping her shoes off. If they were going to wait a long time, she might as well be comfortable.

"Yes. We don't move until that happens."

"And if it doesn't?" Duo inquired.

Damian titled his head to face him, gray eyes dancing.

"That means bad news for your friends."

Duo' face contoured into a snarl. "Why you-"

"Duo, stop it!" Hiiro hissed, holding Duo' arm as he lunged towards Damian, who had closed his eyes again.

"But did you hear him? How can you stand him!" Duo demanded to Hiiro, his large blue eyes accusing.

"It is a good plan. I'm sure they will be fine, and the lights will go off soon. Until then, sit down, stay clam and shut up."

He shoved Duo to the floor.

Duo scowled and folded his arms, sitting up straight.

Shiris sighed. This was not going to be easy if those two were fighting.

Damian smiled inwardly as he listened to the two boys fight. His plan was going perfectly, much to his delight.


	27. Lights Out

The other group was huddled by the door to the first room.

"Okay, I'll take the two on the left, Trowa, the two on the right, and Julie, go for the security cameras," Mayumi ordered, her stolen gun in her hand. Trowa nodded, readying his own gun. Julie muttered a response, her blue eyes flashing in annoyance. All she got to do were the security cameras? Did Mayumi think she couldn't handle a guard?

"Okay, good. Go!" Mayumi exclaimed, and slammed the door inward. At the first sound, all the guards turned towards them, their machine guns raised. Each was dressed in army fatigues, complete with sunglasses.

Trowa dove to the right, taking out one guard before hitting the ground and sliding behind a desk as bullets riddled the wall behind him. Looking forward, he saw the other guard's legs through the desk. Taking careful aim, he shot at both knees. The guards went down, and Trowa leapt up and finished him off.

Mayumi spun to the left, unable to shoot either guard before taking cover behind a computer console. She heard it sizzle as bullets smacked into it, but they didn't go through it. Looking around, she realized she couldn't hit them from her position. If she got up, they would take her out. In fact, they hadn't stopped shooting. Sparks from the computer rained down on her, singing her hair. She had to move, or else the computer console would be gone and she would be their target practice. She was facing the wall, her back to the console. To her left was the door, and she could see Trowa aiming under his desk at something. Looking right, she saw her escape route. Lying on the floor, next to another, larger console, was the supply of weapons. And among them, a rocket launcher.

Taking careful aim at the rocket, she screamed above the roar of the bullets, "fire in the hull!" and squeezed the trigger. Immediately a fireball exploded into the air, hitting the guards standing next to it and enveloping them in flames. Mayumi covered her head as bits and pieces of weapons fell onto her, and moved to the right, away from the crippling heat.

Trowa had just finished his last guard when Mayumi shouted. He dove to the ground behind the desk and covered his head and ears as the left side of the room exploded. He saw two guards fly to his side of the room, followed by countless scraps of metal and stray bullets.

Julie had just finished shooting out all the visible security cameras when Mayumi yelled. Since she was still standing outside the door, she was able to duck back out behind the wall and cover her ears. A blast of heat shot out the door, then nothing. All she could hear was the light 'pings' as metal fell back to the ground.

She quickly went back in, and saw a chunk of wall missing on the left side of the room, further up then where Mayumi was crouched behind a computer. Trowa and Mayumi stood up as Julie entered.

"Well, that was certainly being stealthily," Julie muttered as she stepped between dead guards and scraps of guns.

"I didn't have a choice," Mayumi returned hotly, re-holstering her gun and wiping soot from her face.

Trowa checked guards lying at various places in the room.

"All dead. Come on, lets get out of here."

"I have to find the hidden security cameras first," Julie said, going up to a thermostat and ripping it off the wall.

"We can leave them. Come on, we're behind schedule. The others will want help when they reach the laptop," Mayumi said, going over to a slightly gray block on the floor, set off from all the other white ones.

"No, we have to find them. Remember what Mr. Perfect said?" Julie retorted sarcastically, examining a black, half-moon protrusion from the wall that was about the size of an apple.

"I wonder if this is one. There's no harm in trying, right?" she said to Trowa, who looked wary.

"He never mentioned this—"

Julie tugged at it, but it didn't move.

"I think that means don't touch," Mayumi warned, rising from her crouched position.

Julie took out her gun and smashed it off the wall.

Immediately the lights flickered and died, a low siren wailing once and then dying as well.

"Great! Now what!" Mayumi shouted in anger as the room was enveloped in darkness. "Nice going Julie!"

"How was I supposed to know that would happen? It doesn't have a sign saying DON'T TOUCH on it! Besides, the backup lights should be coming on any second!"

"No, they wont! Did you hear that siren? That only sounds when the BACKUP lights go offline! Did you ever even LISTEN to Jane's lessons?" Mayumi yelled in into the darkness.

Julie didn't reply.

"Hey, I got these," Trowa said calmly, and flicked on a flashlight. In the thin beam of light, he saw Julie, her arms folded, glaring at him. Swinging the beam, he found Mayumi, who covered her eyes and held out her hand. He gave her and Julie flashlights.

"Got them off the guards. Now come on, we have to keep going. This means the lights are off in the whole complex, so we'll have an easier time of getting around without the guards seeing us."

Mayumi went back to the gray tile and lifted it up. It crashed in the ground, revealing a passageway underneath.

"Nice escape route," Julie commented, aiming her flashlight down into the hole. About six feet below was a cement ground. Not hesitating, she jumped down.

Immediately she wanted to go back up as her nose violently protested her action. The passageway smelled like a sewer. Putting her hand onto the curved wall, she yanked it back with a yelp. Holding her hand up to the flashlight, she could see slime and dirt caked on it, and began furiously wiping it off on her pants.

"Come on!" she called back up, "but don't breath out of your nose and don't touch the walls! It a sewer!"

Trowa and Mayumi quickly landed next to her, both making disgusted noises.

"How long to we have to be in here?" Trowa muttered, covering his nose with his sleeve.

"About 15 minutes. Then we should come to another opening." Mayumi replied, lifting her shoe out of a particularly disgusting path of grime.

"And how will we see the opening?" Julie asked, aiming her flashlight at the ceiling, which was rounded and made of cement.

"I guess we see another block of gray," Trowa said, walking in between the two girls.


	28. It HAD to be a vent

Hiiro, Duo, and Shiris jumped to their feet as they heard an explosion from another part of the complex.

"What the hell was that?" Duo exclaimed, fearing for the others lives.

"If the lights don't go off in the next five minutes, I'm heading back there," Shiris said, hurriedly putting her shoes back on.

Hiiro assured himself that Trowa would have the common sense to get away before an explosion could happen. At least, he hoped he got away in time.

Damian pushed himself off the wall, getting very excited as he watched the others panic. Duo and Shiris were tense and alert, ready to bolt back at any second. Hiiro was standing perfectly still, listening for any other sound of distress from the other group. This wasn't part of the plan, and he hoped it would make it more interesting. Perhaps only two of the three made it, or none at all, or maybe one lonesome person made it out alive…

He smiled happily as the lights flickered and died and Shiris sucked in her breath. Immediately numerous flashlights turned on inside the control room.

"Thank god," Shiris murmured, looking though the window on the door.

"When do we move?" Hiiro asked his face illuminated by the light coming through the window.

Damian joined Shiris. "I think right now is a good time," he said, watching as the beams of light ran all over the place, not once focusing on the door.

Shiris moved aside as he silently opened the door and slipped in, completely undetected.

Hiiro immediately followed, pulling out his gun. They could hear the guards talking quickly to one another, and the technicians typing furiously at their computers. But no one seemed to be aware of the two intruders.

Shiris turned to Duo.

"So do we go?" she asked, her eyes worried. They wouldn't be able to turn back once they went though that door. They could very well be killed.

Duo was glaring, his usually soft blue eyes now glinting icily.

"We might as well go. The others are going ahead, even after the explosion," he finally admitted.

Shiris nodded. "Okay. Lets go. But we ought to watch over Hiiro. He trusts Damian too much."

"Totally."

They entered the room, sidling up next to Hiiro and Damian, who were against the wall to their right.

Shiris thought the room actually looked pretty, what with all the beams of light dancing every which way. The others next to her didn't move, so she took a moment to calm her nerves and focused on the lights. As she stared at them, they began to melt into one long, unending beam of light, swirling around, never stopping. She didn't blink, but let herself be lost in the light, for once forgetting who she was, what her mission was, all the pain…

A hand on her shoulder broke her trance and she started forward, the beams of light reverting back to the normal broken, jerking streaks.

"What is it?" she whispered, expecting Duo to answer.

Instead, a deeper, cooler voice answered.

"We're going to attack. The others are already heading for their targets," Damian answered, still gripping her shoulder.

She looked up in fear at the sound of his voice and caught sight of his eyes, illuminated by the light of the computers. They were swirling, menacing, frightening. She wanted to run away, to get away from him, but couldn't move. She was rooted to the spot.

"O-okay…" she said shakily, trying to move away. He didn't let go. Just when she was about to start struggling, a beam of light fell upon them and the guard gave a shout.

Shiris blinked once in the light, putting her arm up. Damian didn't move. Then she wrenched herself out of his grip and threw herself to the side. As she raced to a desk, she saw the light stay on Damian for a moment. He was standing as he had been before, staring at her. The light paused a moment, and then moved away, towards her. She didn't hesitate, going for the owner of the incriminating flashlight, losing sight of Damian in the darkness.

Damian saw the flashlight move off of him and towards Shiris, then watched as it was thrown across the room, coming to a rolling stop at the foot of a hapless technician. The man picked it up and Damian saw him push his glasses back up his nose with a shaking hand.

Poor man, Damian thought pityingly, he has no idea what is going on.

Duo and Hiiro went from flashlight to flashlight, surprising the guards and taking them down quickly. Duo made a quick stop at one of the computers, occasionally jerking back as a stray bullet hit the console or a shout sounded next to his ear.

Using the light given off by the huge computer screen in front of him, he typed quickly, trying to find out how far along with the laptop they were. He hit a particularly difficult firewall and cursed, his fingers beginning to cramp up. He heard Shiris faintly shout something, but couldn't make it out. He had breached the wall and only had one more to go.

"Duo!" Shiris shouted again, and she appeared next to him.

"Duo, come on! Here!" she shoved something in front of him, but he didn't look at it.  
"Hold on, I'm almost in," he murmured, fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Duo!" she shouted again urgently.

The computer pinged and data sheets flooded the screen.

Duo stared at it, dumbfounded. Then he pumped his fist in the black air.

"Yes! I am the master!" he shouted, finally looking at Shiris.

"Shiris, I got in!" he exclaimed excitedly, "We can see how far—what's that?"

He saw the thing she was holding in front of him—night vision goggles.

"Shiris, where did you get that?" he whispered, taking it.

She glared at him. "That's what I've been trying to say. Backup has arrived, with these!"

"So they can see us?" Duo whimpered. In response a bullet hit the huge screen right next to Duo' head, shattering it with a crash. As pieces of glass rained down, Duo grabbed Shiris and flung them to the floor, under the desk.

"But I got in! I can get information from their own computer systems, stuff that can help us. Can you cover me?" he whispered quickly and forcefully, panting slightly.

She nodded. "But be quick. I think the other two want to head out of here soon," she replied, and rolled back out into the open, night vision goggles placed firmly over her eyes.

Duo sat back in front of the computer and proceeded to of through as many of the screens as he could.

Most of it was junk, useless stuff about where the bases were and who worked where. He knew all that already.

There was one about new employees, one about a certain sector, one about the Russian Prime Minister's nuclear weapons cache…

Duo blinked and rubbed his eyes. The Russian Prime Minister's weapons cache? Since when did the Federation know about that? He had never heard of it before! All he knew was that the PM wanted to assassinate the president!

He scrolled down, his eyes widening in shock every second. The information he was reading couldn't be right. He would never align himself with an agency that was so corrupt. He had to tell the others.

"Duo, no more time!" Shiris shouted, ducking as a bullet whizzed over her head. Hiiro came running over, Damian close behind.

Duo didn't move, only continued reading.

Damian almost choked on his tongue when he caught sight of the bright white screen.

Duo had cracked the code? He had gotten into the system? This was not a good development.

"Duo, time to go," Damian ordered, grabbing his shirt and bodily lifting him out of the seat.

"Hey! Damian put me down! I need to get the info!" he cried, but to no avail. Damian dropped him to the ground.

"We're leaving. This way." He set out for the door opposite the one they had come in from.

Grumbling, Duo sprinted behind Shiris.

They burst into a new hallway, the colors indistinguishable because of the night vision.

No new guards came rushing at them, no alarm sounded.

"This way," Damian whispered, turning a corner and ducking into another room

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Duo muttered when he looked at the stalls and sinks.

Hiiro began to wonder if Damian was as smart as he had seemed to be.

Damian leaned against the wall, pressed his palms onto it, and turned his head slightly, listening. The guards' footsteps pounded right past the door.

"Ah, very smart," Hiiro murmured after they couldn't be heard any more.

Damian grinned confidently. "Did you think it wouldn't work? Come on, now we go up," he gestured to the ceiling.

Following his gaze, Hiiro found the opening to a vent.

Shiris grimaced as she was hit with a cruel sense of irony and Hiiro glared at the sight of the damned opening.

"I hate vents," Duo muttered, "I really don't think we ought to go up there."

Damian brushed their complaints away and told Shiris to stand on his shoulders.

"Once you open the grate, lift someone else up, and so on," he ordered.

Sighing, she carefully stepped onto his cupped hands and then propelled herself onto his shoulders, careful to make sure her heels were not digging into him.

A little embarrassed because of the skirt she was wearing, she pulled the covering off the grate and swiftly climbed up into it.

It was slightly smaller than the one they had previously been in, and she had some trouble turning around.

Finally she managed to grip Duo's hands and pull him up, then Hiiro, then Damian.

"Now where to?" Shiris called back as she started forward on her hands and knees, her head brushing the ceiling.

"Just follow the vent, you can only go one way," Damian returned.

Shiris sighed again. "Why do I have a storage sense of de-ja-vu?"

"How long is the vent?" Hiiro asked.

"Not long, we should be coming to an opening soon." was the cool reply.


	29. History

The other three were managing to make their way through the disgusting sewer, but not without complaints. Julie's pants already had muck all over the bottom, and Mayumi had almost lost a shoe in a tar-like substance. Trowa was busy trying to search for the elusive gray block.

Trowa sighed as the two girls began fighting about something.

"Hey," he interrupted, "how long have you two been with the Alliance?"

He both wanted to get them calmed down and also learn a little bit more about them.

Mayumi shrugged. "I've been with them my whole life. I grew up at the agency."

"Is Doctor Jane your mother?" Trowa asked, confused. Their relationship hadn't sounded quite that deep.

She shook her head. "No, I don't know who my parents are. Jane found me abandoned near the agency, and took me in to train me to become a spy."

"So you must be close to perfect," Trowa commented.

Julie rolled her eyes. "Don't feed her ego anymore. She gets enough praise from Jane."

As Mayumi glared at her, Trowa hurriedly turned the conversation to Julie.

"And where are you from?" he asked.

"I actually hacked into the main computer at he base, just for fun. I had no idea where or what it was, but it posed a challenge. And I got in, but they traced it back to my house, even after all my precautions. I was 13."

"Very impressive," Trowa granted.

"Yeah, I thought so too. So, when Jane found out I was youngster with those capabilities, she asked if I wanted to join her. Even though I was young, I knew all about the baggage that came with the deal, and I consented anyway. So, I disappeared."

"And your parents?"

"Can't ever see them again."

Trowa nodded. "I never knew my parents."

"How did the Federation find you?" Mayumi asked as they continued walking, occasionally glancing up at the ceiling.

"Actually, we three knew each other before they recruited us. We lived in Florida, and one day we stumbled onto the base. We loved to go exploring, and that day we went one step too far. When they caught us, it was either die or work for them. Needless to say, we chose life."

Julie shook her head and scowled. "The Federation sounds worse and worse."

"It wasn't all bad. True, they sound a little stricter than Jane, but we did go on missions and such. We did help people."

"But obviously some things were going on behind your backs," Mayumi commented.

Trowa nodded. "What about Shiris? How did she become a member of the Alliance if her father was a co-leader of the Federation?"

"She hated her father," Mayumi replied, "he made her spy for him, dress up as an older woman and find out information, or sneak into different places. She hated it."

"Jane found her at a party," Julie added. "She actually interrogated Jane, and then went up to her father's computer to find out if he was up to anything bad again. She tried to warn all the people her father was targeting next, and did manage to save a few lives. But Jane also went up for the same reason, and found her. Shiris joined the Alliance without question, and she became the third member of the team."

"But just before she left, actually on the day she left, her house was destroyed in fire. She managed to escape," Mayumi finished.

"Did they ever find out if the fire was planned?" Trowa asked, extremely curious. He knew he hadn't done a job like that, but he wasn't sure about the other two. It would be horrible to learn one of his friends had done it.

Mayumi shook her head. "They suspect it was done on purpose, since Shiris had joined the Alliance and that meant her father could secretly be working for them, but they never discovered who started it."


	30. And the Ground Collapses

Damian smiled as Shiris continued forward. He knew it was only a matter of time before the next surprise came along, and it was a good one.

"Hey, Hiiro, what do you think we're gonna do once we get outta here?" Duo asked quietly as he inched his way forward, Shiris' legs barely visible in front of him.

"I suppose we could see if Jane wants to hire us. Other than that, I have no idea," was the cold reply.

"I see. Man, I hope she's a nice lady!"

"I'm sure she'll hire you," Shiris chimed in optimistically. "We'll tell her how much you helped us, and you'll show her your abilities. That should be enough for anyone."

"I hope your right," Duo muttered, "because I cant see myself, a trained assassin and spy, waiting on tables."

Hiiro snickered and then grunted when Duo kicked him.

Immediately a fight broke out, and in the confined area of the vent, the noise was deafening.

"Will you shut up!" Damian roared finally, and Shiris reminded herself to thank him when they immediately grew silent.

"Guys, we have to work together," Shiris told them sternly, "no more fi—!"

"Shiris?" Duo cried as she stopped mid-sentence and disappeared.

They heard her shout once and then silence.

Duo stopped and felt in front of him, heart beating wildly.

Hiiro began to breath faster. Damian smiled.

"Shiris!" Hiiro shouted.

Shiris landed with a thud onto concrete and winced as she leapt up, her butt painfully hurting.

Rubbing her back, she gazed around her.

Weapon after weapon greeted her eyes, and then body armor, and more weapons, but no guards. There were two doors, one in front of her and one to the right. She glazed back up.

"Hey, I'm down here!" she called, letting them know she was unhurt, for the moment.

"Shiris!" she heard Duo return, and then Hiiro.

After answering them, and assuring them it was safe to come down, she explored her new area.

She stopped dead when she moved to see what was behind a shelf of body armor.

Case after case of explosives loomed above her, their warnings blaring at her.

She ran to look behind another shelf. More explosives. And not just grenades, but TNT and dynamite as well.

"Guys! Wait! Don't come down, its not safe!" she shouted, but Duo came sailing into the room at that moment.

"Ouch! You didn't mention we'd be landing on concrete!" he muttered, rubbing his butt. Hiiro appeared soon after.

"Where are we?" he demanded, and Shiris looked at him fearfully.

"As soon as Damian comes, we have to leave. Look." She motioned behind her, and they caught sight of the explosives.

"We could be blown to pieces if one bullet hits one box!" Duo cried as he inspected the cases. "There's enough stuff in here to blow us all to heaven and back again!"

Hiiro joined him and nodded, backing away.

Damian landed lightly in the center of the room, on his feet. As he stood up, he took out his lighter and began flicking it open and shut.

"_NO_!" all three cried, tackling him and wrenching the lighter out of his hand.

"Give that back right now. What the hell are you doing?" he exclaimed when he ripped it back from Duo.

"What the hell we're doing is saving our asses from being blown up! One flame and we're history!" he shouted, pointing to the explosives.

"Shouldn't you have known that?" Shiris demanded, turning on Damian. "Yes, you should have! I thought you knew the layout of this place. Obviously, someone was lying along the way. You have no idea where we're supposed to be going. And I'll bet you got the others lost too!" she was walking closer to him. "I want you to lead us to the laptop now. No more of your games; get us there within the next five minutes, or your done. Move!" she shoved him towards the door as Duo and Hiiro looked on, a little surprised.

Damian's face became a snarl and his eyes flared up, the spirals becoming a solid dark gray.

He shoved her roughly back and she stumbled but kept her balance.

Hiiro put a hand out in front of the furious Shiris.

"Damian, stop. She has a point. You should have known about this room and what was in it. It is not a room to ignore."

He spoke quickly and coldly, his eyes boring into Damian's

Damian stood perfectly still for a moment, calming his twisted nerves. All right, so maybe he shouldn't have done the whole lighter thing. But he was still certain he had been too charming an helpful for them to know the whole truth.

He jerked suddenly. "I don't want any more of this mutiny crap. You listen to me or you get out and forget the laptop, got it?" he told them harshly.

Three pairs of eyes glared up at him.

He strode to the door and threw it open.

"This way," he hissed, glaring furiously at them.

Shiris started forward first. Hiiro watched her stride up to Damian and then stop directly across from him, saying something to him.

Then he heard a slight _ping_ from outside the door, and everything slowed down. He felt like he was watching a movie in slow motion. He watched Shiris and Damian's mouths move, and then stay open as a small, green oval ball sailed past their eyes, heading straight for the boxes of TNT next to them.

They followed its trail, watching as it bounced once on the ground with a sharp metallic _ping_, bounced a second time, and rolled to a stop in front of a box.

In a flash, time resumed its usual pace as all hell broke loose.

Not bothering to scream, Shiris flung herself out the door, Damian right behind her, his coat swirling behind him.

Duo shouted in pure fear and raced for the door.

Hiiro sprinted after him, glancing at the grenade lying right by the dynamite. There was no time to pick it up and chuck it way. At most he had two seconds.

He threw himself out the door, rolled to the ground, and slammed into a wall.

One second to go.

He leapt up and raced down the hall after the other three.

Boom 

He heard the first explosion, the original grenade. It wasn't large, but it did shake the walls.

Then the real fun began. With a whoosh, the wind was sucked from the hallway and into the arms room. Hiiro could feel himself being pulled back and fought to keep going, his skin prickling. Then a deafening explosion immediately followed by a blast of heat rolling over them. He ducked and covered his face, protecting it from the searing heat. They were still moving.

Next came the blast of air pushing them forward, and Hiiro felt himself lifted up and thrown forward. He crashed into Duo as the four of them were tossed like rag dolls down the hall.

He cried out as the heat from the resulting explosion hit them and the walls began to crumble. Down the hallway he could see a fireball explode out of he doorway, taking the whole wall with it. Many tinnier explosions were now occurring as each case and each weapon exploded as the heat hit it.

He felt like he was in a war, except there were no foxholes to hide in.

All he could do was cringe and curl up into a ball, protecting his body from the pieces of concrete raining down on them.

He heard Duo cry out as a piece hit him square on the back.

Then, as if things weren't bad enough, the floor began to shake under him. He whipped his head up, willing to risk getting hurt, and saw what he had most feared. A thin crack in the cement was rushing towards then, its jagged edges dancing closer and closer. Finally it hit them and went right by, all the way down the hall.

Then the ground spilt with a groan and cement pieces began to crumble and fall down into a dark pit.

"The ground!" he shouted to the others, but didn't have a chance to see if they heard him before he felt himself fall as the ground gave way.


	31. Suspicions

Below, down in the sewers, the other three paused as they heard a deep rumble from above and the walls started vibrating.

"What is that?" Julie whispered, then yelped as another explosion, this one a hundred times louder, rocked them back and forth.

"We need to move forward!" Trowa shouted, beginning to run, "the walls are starting to cave in!"

The two women glanced up fearfully and gasped as they saw and felt little pebbles of cement pour down on them.

"Where do we go?" Julie cried, coughing as dust from the grinding walls blew onto them.

"Anywhere but here!" Mayumi replied frantically as she splashed though the slime, now not even noticing it.

They had gone about fifteen feet when the ceiling caved in.

Julie screamed as a huge chunk of cement fell in front of her and she jerked back, panting.

Looking behind her, she saw the same thing was happening.

"Where do we go?" she cried, dodging the large pieces that were falling all around them.

"I don't know!" Trowa called back, covering his head. He looked about frantically for some place to duck and cover, but there was none.

Mayumi suddenly saw an enormous chunk of concrete that was angled upwards, leaning against another piece. It created a sort of shelter area, and she raced for it.

"Get in here!" she called and scrambled under the jutting end. Quickly the other two joined her, and they smushed themselves in, Trowa on the end. He turned his back to the outside and huddled in, praying the cement wouldn't collapse. If it did, they would be crushed immediately.

For what seemed like hours the debris pounded them, making it sound like they were in an air raid.

Mayumi and Julie crouched against Trowa, who held them to his chest, protecting them from the small but sharp pebbles that were propelled into the opening.

Hiiro didn't want to open his eyes, afraid that he would see the golden gate of heaven or the fiery barbwire of hell.

Then he heard a little cough from somewhere, and he thought it odd that someone would be sick after death.

He squinted his eyes open and soon they became teary from the dust still hanging in the air.

He tried to move, but found something on him. And that something had a long braid that was currently on his chest.

"Duo?" Hiiro muttered weakly, pushing himself upright. He was surprised he was alive. Once the floor caved in, he was sure they would be buried under piles of rubble.

"Hiiro? That you?" Duo murmured, putting his head up. "Are we alive?"

"We aren't in heaven if you're here," Hiiro muttered and pushed Duo off him, causing a small avalanche of rock to clatter down to the floor. Hiiro saw he was a little above the floor, lying on a pile of cement. Above him was nothing; the whole corridor was gone, and small fires licked the air everywhere.

"How are we still alive?" Duo asked, standing up. He had cuts all over the exposed pasts of his body, and his shirt and pants were torn in some spots. He had a nasty cut just above his right eye, and wiped the blood away before it leaked into his eye.

Hiiro stood up as well. He had fared a little better, though his one arm had a gash in it.

"I think we were shielded somewhat by that," he pointed up, and Duo saw a piece of the floor still intact, hanging just over their heads.

"Wow, talk about luck."

He kicked a stone, sending it down to the ground. "Hey, wait a minute, where's Shiris and Damian?" he said suddenly. Hiiro glanced around, expecting to see them, but didn't.

Duo got a pained look on his face. "Come on, we have to dig. They might be under us." He began pulling rocks out and chucking them away, Hiiro soon joining him.

Then, from another part of the wreckage, a hand shot up out of the rock and rubble began to shift as it was pushed up.

"Over there!" Duo cried, and the two rushed to help.

After a minute, they managed to pull Damian out of the small hole and then Shiris from under him.

Both were looking very bruised, and Shiris had a gash across her shoulder. Even Damian looked beat up, and his coat was torn in various places. They brushed the dust off of themselves and then surveyed their territory.

"Where are we? Is there a lower floor?" Shiris asked as she saw the slime-covered floor beneath her.

"No, this is the sewer," Damian replied irritably, very, very angry at how things had changed. He had never expected some idiot of a guard would even consider tossing a grenade in the room they—he— was standing in. Once everything was over, he was going to personally kill that man if he hadn't been killed in the explosion.

He felt a tap on his arm and turned quickly.

"Hey, where do we go now?"

Shiris was looking up at him, her eyes tired and skin covered in dirt.

"Man, we better get that freaking laptop," Duo muttered from the corner. He had his arms folded and was kicking stones down the hill.

Hiiro was thinking about what to do. Obviously, Damian was not as reliable as previously thought.

He brushed the dust out of his hair and then sneezed.

"We head down the sewers. Your friends should be down here somewhere, if they are on schedule," Damian said as he carefully made his way down the rock hill.

"What?" Shiris exclaimed fiercely, "our friends are down here? You mean they could be under all this rubble?"

Damian nodded and continued walking.

Shiris ran up to him. "Were you planning on helping them or just walking away?" she demanded.

"Help them if you want, but it would take a long time to search the entire length of the sewer. I suggest we keep moving unless we see a definite sign of them," was the cold reply.

Shiris made a frustrated noise and started down, the two boys following.

Trowa carefully stood up and helped the two girls out of their hideaway.

"At least we made it," Julie murmured as she dusted herself off.

Mayumi sneezed a few times as she cleaned her clothes and hair, and Trowa didn't even bother. He was too busy looking at where they were.

He saw the whole ceiling was gone, even where the sewer curved behind them, and they would have a little bit of trouble making their way forward.

"Great, we have to climb," Julie muttered as she saw the huge piles of rock before them.

"What do you think that explosion was?" Mayumi asked as they started forward.

"You don't think it was the other group? That they were killed?"

Her partners didn't answer, so she became quiet. They all knew that was a possibility.

"What do we do now that the gray block is no longer our exit? What if it was blown up?" Julie asked.

Trowa shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Lets just keep walking until we hit the intact ceiling and keep searching for it. There's a good chance we haven't hit it yet," Mayumi suggested, and started up the rock wall.


	32. The closet

Hiiro threw his night vision goggles in the dirt and continued on. They were totally smashed from the fall, so he turned on a flashlight he had hooked onto his pants when they had taken the control room.

Shiris fell into step with the boys.

"Look, Duo, I think you were right about Damian. Thing just don't add up with him."

"No kidding! What have I been telling you all along? Maybe you'll learn to listen to me now!" he muttered, tossing his own goggles.

Shiris sighed. "Yes, I know. But now what do we do?"

"I'm sure we're being led into a trap," Duo began, but Hiiro interrupted him.

"We don't know anything. Lets just go along with him for now. He might actually lead us to the laptop."

"And then ambush us! Hiiro, don't you get it? He's been getting us in trouble the whole time!"

"And what about just now? Do you think he wanted to commit suicide?" Hiiro demanded.

Duo sighed in frustration.

"Hiiro, that might have been an accident, some guard that got out of hand," Shiris said, then immediately smiled at him when Damian turned around.

"Mine are broken too," she said and threw her goggles away. Damian turned back around.

"Come on, how long are we going to follow this fake?" Duo demanded in a hushed voice as they scrambled over loose rock.

Hiiro didn't answer.

"Fine. We play his game until we see an opening. Then we beat it." Duo answered himself.

"Look!" Julie exclaimed excitedly, pointing ahead of them.

The ceiling was intact.

"Yes! Finally!" Mayumi cried and rushed down the mountain, her face angled upwards.

"Please let us find that damned block!" Trowa whispered, following closely behind his flashlight aimed at the ceiling.

"After we find this exit, are we almost done?" Julie asked Mayumi.

"Yeah. We only have a few more rooms to go after this one. And I think if we make it out of here alive, we can handle anything."

"Don't jinx us," Julie warned, but with a smile on her face. It felt much better to have concrete above them.

After a few more minutes of walking, all three flashlights fell on one spot at exactly the same moment.

No one dared to say anything. Then Julie let out a screech.

"We did it! We're outta here! No more stinking sewer!"

She danced a circle around the block and grabbed Trowa and Mayumi's hands.

"We did it! We did it!" she chanted, swing them in a circle.

"Yeah, great, so lets get out of here!" Mayumi said, and Julie released her, sending her flying into the wall.

"Oops, sorry!" Julie giggled, then hid behind Trowa as Mayumi stood up and leapt at her.

"Come on, we made it through that alive. Lets not kill ourselves at the exit," Trowa reasoned, and motioned for Mayumi to climb onto his shoulders.

Once she had steadied herself, she carefully pushed the block up and peered out with her flashlight.

It was a super small but un-inhabitated room with one door directly in front of her. She couldn't see what was behind her, so she pushed further and shot up into the room as the cement block hit the ground with a crash. Sweeping the room with her gun, she found they were in a closet.

"At least we're safe for the moment," she told Julie as she lifted herself into the room. Then they both grabbed Trowa and pulled him in.

Once all three were standing, they had about two feet of extra space.

"Its just a tad tight in here," Julie murmured, trying to turn on her flashlight but couldn't move her arm.

"I suggest we move outside," Mayumi offered, getting two nods in response.

She clicked her flashlight off and gripped the doorknob. At the same instant it began turning. She backed up, hit Julie, and they fell in a mass of arms and legs and much shouting as Julie almost fell back down the hole.

Above them, the light clicked on. They blinked in the light, and saw the face of a man looming over them. The startled guard didn't know what to make of the three people in front of him for a moment. Then Julie shouted.

"Trowa, pull me back up!" her upper body was dangling into the sewer with Trowa holding tightly to her kicking legs.

The guard's eyes snapped and he began shouting at them to get up, prodding them with his rifle.

Mayumi stood up and Trowa pulled Julie back up.

"Thank you! Finally! What took you so-" she turned and ran smack into the angry guard.

"Whoa! Where'd you come from?" she cried, reeling back and almost stepping into the hole again.

"Get out! No talking!" the guard ordered, pulling them out of the closet and into a hallway.

There were two doors on either side and one at the end of the hallway made of glass. They could see what looked like a research lab, with many white-coat scientists wearing gasmasks and lifting flasks.

"What the hell goes on down here?" Julie murmured as they were ordered to move forward.

"Wait, does he really think he's going to get us anywhere by himself?" she added in an incredulous voice..

"I think he does," Trowa concurred, smiling.

"Well, he's dead wrong," Mayumi muttered, swing her elbow back and smashing the guard's nose and sunglasses. He fell down, holding his bleeding nose, and Trowa kicked him in the head.

"Mayumi, was that a joke?" Julie said in an amazed voice, grabbing the guard's holstered gun.

Mayumi checked the ammo on the rifle, and Trowa grabbed the knife under his pant leg.

"Now we go through the lab room, down another hallway, and we should be at the room," Mayumi said, starting forward.


	33. The Real Enemy

Damian jumped deftly down the rock pile and aimed his flashlight upwards.

Only he noticed the small square opening as they passed below it.

"Damian, how much further?" Hiiro asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. It was hot, dusty and smelly in the sewer, and they had been walking for only half an hour.

"Not much father. There should be a ladder at the end of the sewer leading up to the second floor," he replied, swinging his beam back to the floor.

"There'd better be," Duo muttered, fanning his face with his braid.

Shiris had taken off the suit jacket and tossed it.

"Hey," Duo whispered suddenly, "I have to tell you. I found out some scary stuff on the computer, when I breached the Federations defenses. Stuff we didn't even know about, Hiiro."

"Like what?" he asked, unsure of what he couldn't have known about. He and the others were the top agents. Nothing was kept from them.

"Like a plan to destroy the entire island of Greece, take over Russia, and then focus on conquering the whole planet," Duo replied gravely.

The two had to focus hard on walking or they would have fallen over.

"_What?_" Shiris murmured.

"You heard me right. Sethin wants to help the Prime Minister of Russia control all of Russia."

"Christ, he's another Hitler! Only smarter!"

"And what does Greece have to do with it?" Hiiro asked.

"Greece is a warning. Sort of like 'this is what happens if you don't comply'. I'm still not sure how he plans on doing it, but its happening soon. And we have to stop it, or the world leaders will comply with him."

"This is a lot worse than a secret weapons cache," Shiris muttered.

"The weapons cache was a decoy to put us on the wrong trail. I mean, if we, the spies of the bad group, found out what our group was doing, it could spell doom for the whole mission."

"So there is no weapons cache?" Shiris repeated.

"Nope. At least, not the type we were thinking of. You know, something hidden in the mountains that we could destroy or disarm. Nope, not that kind. But maybe there is a weapon they're planning on using on Greece. It sounded like it was a one of a kind weapon, one that's never been seen before."

"We need to stop them," Hiiro said.

"I agree. The Alliance can help out a great deal," Shiris agreed.

Duo bit his lip.

"What?" Shiris asked.

"What if the Alliance is in on it to?"

Shiris sucked in her breath and expelled it in a long sigh.

"I don't think so."

"It could be. We thought the Federation was clean until a few days ago."

"No. Jane couldn't ever do that."

"Okay, fine. But be careful once we get the laptop back. Don't let her know we know about the plot until Julie has inspected their files."

"You mean let her hack into the Alliance?"

"Yes."

"It's the only way to be absolutely certain," Hiiro agreed.

Shiris let out a curse and ran a hand through her hair. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Mayumi motioned for the other two to move carefully along the walls. The scientists didn't seem to have noticed them yet.

Once they reached the sides of the door, out of sight of the main room, she counted to three.

On the third count, Trowa grabbed the handle of the door and pulled. Then pushed.

"Its locked," he whispered, staring at the faces of the scientist. They had seen the three, and were watching them, not moving.

Trowa aimed at the bottom of the glass and fired.

The glass shattered and he jumped in, aiming at the 5 masked men.

"Don't move," he ordered coldly as the other two joined him, following his example.

"We don't kill scientists, right?" Julie whispered, motioning for one to put his hands up.

"No, we don't, unless they try to kill us first," Mayumi replied.

"What are they doing in here?" Trowa asked suddenly, looking at the various experiments set up. There were two main tables in the center of the room and then four smaller ones spread out around them. On one was a cage fill of mice, on another were rats, and then on the one closest to them was a pile of dead ones. Their skin had turned black and their fur had fallen off.

On one of the center tables was a container filled with vials of black liquid and a computer with a few slides strewn around it. On the second table was an airtight container that held a contraption with two cylinders with a glass tube connecting them on the bottom and then leading to another, larger flask. It could only be accessed with robotic hands.

Syringes were on every table, most of them empty.

"Uh, I don't think we should be in here without a gas mask," Julie whispered, moving towards the door to the right.

"Wait, we have to find out what this is. We cant just leave, it may be dangerous," Trowa said, still holding his gun, but moving towards the airtight container.

"What is this?" he demanded the scientist standing next to it. He didn't answer.

"Tell me, or I'll take your gas mask off," he warned.

When he reached for it the man waved his hands in the air and jerked back.

"Okay, okay! It's a research experiment," he said, his voice sounding a lot like Darth Vader's.

"We know that!" Julie exclaimed.

Trowa cocked his gun.

"It's a new viral agent," the man confessed, backing up and hitting a table.

"A viral agent? A harmful one?" Mayumi asked, glancing at the dead rats.

"Yes."

"How harmful?" Julie demanded as she realized they could be exposing themselves to it right then.

"Very. A few seconds, and then bam. Your dead."

"So, we'd know if we were infected?" she reassured herself.

"Yes."

"Good. Now, why aren't you guys packed up and out of here? Did you not hear the explosion? Was there no alarm that went off?" Trowa asked.

"We are packing up. But it takes a long time when you have to be careful not to break anything, or else you might die."

Julie nodded at his logic.

"One last question before we go. What are you using this for?" Trowa asked.

The man hesitated. "I don't know. We're just ordered to make it, we don't ask questions."

"Are you sure about that?" he put the gun to his chest.

"p-positive!" the man squeaked.

"And are you four?" Mayumi asked, indicating the other scientists, who all nodded fiercely. "Because if you aren't, I will come back and kill you. You can be sure of that."

"She's not joking," Julie confirmed, staring at each one. They all backed up when she turned on them, not daring to cross her.

"Lets get them tied up," Trowa ordered and rounded all five into one corner while Mayumi and Julie went and got extra lab coats from a small closet in a corner.

Ripping them into thin stripes, they bound the scientists' arms and legs then gagged them.

They then backed away, leaving the five propped up against the wall, out of reach of anything.

Mayumi paused on the way out, taking a moment to examine the experiments.

"Ugh, look at these," Julie cried, pointing at the rats.

Mayumi saw their skin and fur had been burned off.

"Look at this," Trowa countered, motioning them over to the microscope. Mayumi peered in after him and saw fresh, healthy human cells.

"Now watch this." He got a second slide marked "_test sub. Post inj._"

Mayumi gasped as she saw the skin had been decimated through all the layers.

"This skin was literally burned through all the way. Nothing survived. If this is what the viral agent does, we have to make sure we get someone back here quick. I don't think the Federation would be funding a project like this unless they planned to use it."

"We ought to bring a vial of it with us, just in case they want proof," Julie suggested, carefully picking up a black vial about four inches tall. She pocketed it and buttoned the pocket.

She then pulled the gags off one of the scientists.

"How is this agent spread?" she asked as she bent down in front of him.

"Airborne. It's heavier than air, so it falls quickly. Whatever it lands on gets burned."

She replaced the gag and scowled.

"So its like a pumped up acid rain,"

"Julie, do not let that vial break," Mayumi warned, "You could kill us all."

"You think I don't realize that?" she retorted, cautiously putting one foot in front of the other. "Just don't hit my pocket."


	34. Never give the bad guy a cigarette

Duo let out a cry of thanksgiving when the ladder came into view.

"Finally! I thought we'd be stuck in this gross pit for the rest of our lives!"

"We should come out into the end of a corridor. One more room and then the laptop," Damian said as he grabbed a rung and began climbing.

Shiris followed him, then Duo and Hiiro.

Hiiro grimaced as his hands touched various molds and funguses. "Hasn't been used in a while has it?" he called up.

"I guess not. I don't see why people would need to come down here often, anyway," Damian replied, reaching a grate in the ceiling and shoving it up.

Once everyone was assembled, he motioned for them to follow him.

They were a corridor and heading for a fork in the road.

Damian calmly stepped through the invisible laser detector and tripped a trap.

"Whoa!" Duo exclaimed and put his hands out to stop Hiiro as the floor disappeared a foot in front of Damian.

"It's a trap. We need to get across, quickly," Damian urged, looking behind him with frightened eyes. "Guards will start pouring in any time."

"What? What do you think we can do? Its too wide to jump!" Shiris cried, peering down into the black hole that didn't seem to end at the sewer. It just spun off into a dark abyss.

"I suggest we try, because we have more immediate problems than guards!" Duo suddenly exclaimed, pointing behind them.

They heard a 'chink', and a thin, tall metal spear shot up out of the floor. Then it disappeared, only to appear a moment later in a different, closer place.

"It's drawn to body heat," Damian warned when it popped up again.

"Oh shit, jump!" Shiris yelled, panicking.

Damian backed up a few feet, bent down, and pushed off.

He sprinted down the hallway past the staring spies and leapt over the chasm. His coat blew out behind him, his arms outstretched. Then he landed roughly and rolled, coming to a stop a few feet from the chasm.

"Come on! You can get across!" he shouted, holding out his hand.

They all hesitated, afraid of falling.

"He has a lot longer legs," Duo muttered, but backed up and took a running leap, the metal spear coming up where he had been standing. He landed safely across and Damian helped him up.

"Shiris, you go next," Hiiro ordered, glancing behind him. The spear was feet away. Shiris was in the danger zone just by backing up.

Nodding, she went a few feet back, steadied her nerves, and ran like hell. She flew across and landed in waiting arms, looking back at Hiiro fearfully.

The spear was now in the area of Hiiro, and he was trying to dodge it.

His heart skipped a beat when it came up and snagged his shirt, just missing the skin underneath. Ripping himself away, he backed up and waited for the spear to appear again. Once it had shot up a few feet away from him, he sprinted for the edge.

He could see his friend's faces, urging him on, ready to catch him if he should fall. He was almost to the edge, his legs were pumping, his heart pounding, and he felt confident.

The spear burst out of the ground directly in front of him and he frantically tried to dodge it and leap at the same time.

He felt himself fly up into the air, nothing below him, and then swiftly fall back down, the air rushing by him.

Frantically, he threw his hands up and felt something catch them. He crashed into the side of the cement hole, his feet dangling into empty air. His flashlight shook loose from his pocket and swiftly sailed silently into the dark, the light obliterated by the black after a few seconds. He didn't hear it hit the ground. Glancing up, he saw Damian gripping his hands tightly, on his knees and bending over the edge. His eyes were glinting and a smile curved his lips.

"Damian, pull me back up," Hiiro whispered, afraid of the look on Damian's face.

He didn't move, only continued staring, almost thoughtfully, at Hiiro, who was looking up at him with fear in his eyes.

Then Damian's eyes snapped and he squeezed his hands painfully tight around Hiiro's and Hiiro knew he was going to drop him.

"Damian, no!" he hissed, then cried out as Damian released him. For a split second, he thought he was going to die, going to be smashed to pieces on concrete hundreds of feet down. Then someone threw themselves down and grabbed his flailing hand, gripping it tightly with two.

Shiris was staring down at him, her dark brown eyes relieved and also frightened, her hair reaching down into the pit.

"Hiiro, I got you, its okay," she whispered, and held out her other hand. Reaching up, he grasped it and she pulled him up over the side, tumbling to the ground.

He immediately turned on Damian, only to find him at gunpoint. Duo was standing in front of him, gun aimed directly between his eyes. Damian was still smiling his unnerving, infuriating smile.

"You son of a bitch!" Hiiro shouted and punched him in the jaw.

Damian's head whipped to the side and he clutched his cheek, but didn't fall.

He started laughing.

"I can see why you'd be mad, Hiiro," he chuckled, only making Hiiro angrier. Shiris grabbed his arm as he went to punch him a second time.

"No, Hiiro, we still need him. He is the only chance we have of finding the laptop. You know how important that is now!" she pleaded.

"The freak tried to kill me. He lied to us all. He deceived us all. He deceived _me_! He made a fool out of us, and we're going to let him live?" Hiiro yelled at her, but she calmly told him to back down.

Muttering under his breath, he walked away and leaned against the wall, looking back at the hole. The spear was still trying to hit them, fruitlessly trying to cross the chasm.

"Okay, Damian, the game's over. Now you lead us to the laptop," Duo ordered, shoving him forward and keeping the gun on his back. Shiris and Hiiro took out their own guns and kept them trained on him as well.

Damian sighed as he turned down the right hand corridor. "I will admit, that was fun while it lasted. But I just got carried away. It was too much of a temptation to let Hiiro go. He was in the perfect spot. All I had to do was let go! It would have been beautiful," he added wistfully, while Shiris tried to prevent Hiiro from strangling him.

"You are one messed up guy," Duo muttered, "You really should see a good psychiatrist."

"Duo, I have to hand it to you," Damian replied coolly, "you were the smartest of the bunch. You and that girl, you never ever trusted me. I applaud your intuition."

"And you think I should feel honored to have your praise? Please. You sicken me."

Damian just grinned.

"You do know that if you lead us to the wrong place, we will shoot you and find it ourselves," Hiiro warned him, itching to fulfill that promise.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I promise to get you to the laptop," Damian assured him, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Ah, ah, ah, I don't think so. Hands out right now," Duo ordered.

Damian sighed. "All I want is a cigarette. Is that too much to ask?"

"Yes," Hiiro answered, but Duo shushed him.

"One cigarette. Hand the lighter over to me and I'll light it. And don't blow the smoke towards us, it's disgusting," he said, grabbing the small gold lighter when Damian handed it back. Then he pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and leaned towards Duo.

Flicking the lighter on, Duo put it to the cigarette, his gun still trained on Damian.

Shiris watched the process carefully, almost positive Damian wanted to use it somehow to get free. But even she didn't move fast enough.

Damian, as soon as the cigarette was lit, whipped his hand up and shoved the lighter towards Duo and ducked at the same time.

A chunk of wall fell to the ground as a bullet slammed into it and Duo shouted when the flame from the lighter touched his face. Not waiting a millisecond, Damian spun and stuck the lit cigarette against Hiiro's cheek, causing him to back away and bend over.

Shiris shot at him, but he moved like a shadow. He was next to her before the shot hit the wall, Duo' gun pressed to her temple.

"Never, ever, give a prisoner a cigarette," he whispered in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Hiiro spun, gun in hand, towards Damian and fired. His eyes widening and mouth dropping, he jerked it to the side at the last minute.

The bullet smacked into the wall two inches from Shiris' head and she ducked her head from pure reflex only to have it shoved up again by the gun.

She knew enough about him that he would shoot her if she tried to get away and so stayed perfectly still.

"Back away or I will shoot her," Damian warned in an icy cold voice when Hiiro kept the gun trained on him. Duo, a hand over his cheek, turned to Damian.

"You ba-"

"No foul language, please. I know what I am, don't worry. But I'm afraid the tables have turned once again. Now, if you will please continue down this way? I will still lead you to the laptop. You forget, I still have your friends to deal with. Move!"

"Not until you let her go," Hiiro muttered.

Shiris heard Damian growl deep down in his throat.

"Look, I don't have time to fool around! Move, now, or I will be forced to hurt one of you."

When they didn't move, Damian shot Duo in the leg and had the gun back on Shiris within a second.

For a moment, Duo didn't move. Then he yelled in pain and clutched the bleeding leg and pulled his pant leg up.

The bullet had only skimmed the skin but had still left a large mark that was freely bleeding.

"You asshole! I wasn't even the one talking!" Duo shouted, his face pained and angry.

Hiiro put the gun down.

"Much better," Damian said with a smile. "Now, go through the door at the end of the hallway. In that room is your precious laptop."

Hiiro, with a last glare at Damian, went to Duo and put his arm around him and hoisted him up, Duo grinding his teeth in pain.

They started walking down the hall, Shiris and Damian following slowly. Damian gripped Shiris tightly around the waist with one hand and held the gun up to her temple with the other.

"Damian," Shiris muttered, "why did you do this whole elaborate set up? Why impersonate an Alliance member? Why not just kill us?"

Damian smiled at her nativity.

"Its simple, much more simple than you ever would imagine."

"Then please enlighten me, all knowing one," she muttered, and then hissed as he dug the gun in further.

"Because we needed to test out the new traps and security cameras, as well as to see how many guards we would need in each room. You are the top agents, the best of the best. You would be the perfect test subjects because you would give us accurate results on what needed to be upgraded."

She was completely blown away. Never in a million years did she think the answer would be that simple.

"So we were guinea pigs?" she said incredulously and angrily, her eyes narrowing.

"You only wanted us to test out your security defenses? You didn't care if we actually got the laptop back?"

"Oh, of course we did, but that's why I went along. I was to prevent you from getting it, which is what I did."

"But the other group-"

"Is about to find the laptop as well as a full army of the Federation's best soldiers and elite guards!" he cried gleefully.

"No…" she whispered. Their plans were finished. The base would be found, the Alliance decimated, they would be killed…

"Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that you would be test subjects for the new viral agent as well."

"The new what?" Shiris murmured, already putting two and two together in her head.

"Oh, yes, we have a surprise for you. A new airborne toxin that burns anything it touches. So far it has only been tested on rats. You will be the first human tests subjects."

"You sick people! How could you do that?" she hissed, but knew that the people they were dealing with were not humane in the least. She also knew what the new weapon was that was going to be used on Greece.

"Through that door, yes," Damian said, directing Hiiro and Duo.

Hiiro opened the plain white door, revealing the entire remaining army of the base all shoved into one room.

"Oh my god," Shiris whispered, feeling the last of her hope ripped away. Even if they were superheroes they wouldn't be able to defeat these men. They looked like they had all won the strongest man contests as well as the Mr. Body competition. No lean skinny man in this bunch.

"Shit…" Duo managed, pressing himself against the wall, Hiiro next to him.

Damian stepped in and the door slammed shut. He shoved Shiris away from him and she was propelled into the open arms of a buff, body-armor clad elite soldier who immediately pinned her arms to her sides and gripped her tightly around the waist. She would be able to go through a nuclear war and not move.

Hiiro and Duo were soon gripped in similar ways, each not bothering to struggle.

Then the ranks of men parted in front of them and Sethin stepped forward, a pleasant smile on his lips.

"I have been waiting eagerly for you to arrive. Excellent work, Damian," he said to the man, who bowed slightly and shrugged.

"It wasn't hard. They were so trusting."

Sethin grinned at the glares Damian was receiving.

"Don't be angry," Sethin told the three, "it was a mean thing to do, I'll admit. But, I had to. I did need to test out a few things, and you also needed to be killed. Two for the price of one,"

"How could you sell yourself out to a pig like Charkovky?" Duo demanded, his eyes flashing.

Sethin looked surprised. "How did you find out about that?"

Damian went quickly over to him and whispered something and Sethin glanced back up.

"Duo, I should have known you would be able to do that. You weren't the best hacker for nothing. But yes, I have donated my abilities to the PM. And for a hefty profit, I might say. You see, I sold him the toxin for an unimaginable sum, first of all. Second, I will be in charge of all security forces and computers and technology in the new Russia when he takes over. You can't imagine how much wealth and power that will rake in for me. Think world leader, only better. I will be able to do anything I want, when ever I want."

He walked over to the two boys.

"I was going to ask you three to join me, after you killed the girls," he glanced over at Shiris, "but that didn't work out. And I knew if you were to join me, you would have to be able to do that. So, plans had to be changed. And you turned out to actually be a pleasant bonus, the perfect test subjects for the toxin."

"You're willing to get rid of us that quickly? After all we've done for you?" Hiiro demanded, his cold blue eyes looking like liquid nitrogen.

Sethin stepped over in front of him and leaned down.

"Yes."

Hiiro jerked towards him but couldn't reach.

"You'll never get away with this!" Duo shouted, "Do you think people will just stand by and let this happen? Do you think people will submit to you?"

"Yes, after they see what T-59 can do. They'll be willing to do anything, even hand over their countries to me."

A soldier suddenly came up to Sethin and whispered to him.

A smile slowly formed on Sethin's lips.

"Good, good. Lady and Gentlemen, the last three spies are about to find us. Please, prepare yourselves,"

"No!" Shiris cried, struggling but to no avail. "No! Please, let them go!"

Sethin went over to her, a pitying look on his face.

"Are you upset? Do you want us to spare your friends? Poor little girl, all upset. Don't cry now, that's not lady like."

Shiris was irate. Did it look like she was crying? She spat in his face when he bent down in front of her.

With a growl, he stepped back and motioned for help, a soldier coming up and wiping the spit off his face.

Then he whirled around, stepped up to her, and slapped her across the face.

It stung like hell, but she didn't let him know it. Glaring, she turned her head back to face him.

With a furious look on his face, he turned away from her.

"Your lucky I already have plans for you, or I would kill you myself," he muttered, and was swallowed up by the ranks of men.


	35. I TOLD you so!

"You know, I bet we could have gone back to the base and packed up and moved by this time," Julie muttered, fingering the vial in her pocket.

Mayumi grabbed her hand

"Stop touching it. You do that again and I'm taking it, got it?"

Julie pulled her hand away and glared, but removed her hand from her pocket.

"Look," Trowa said, pointing, "I think we're close to the last room."

Down at the end of the hallway was a door marked DO NOT ENTER.

"Do you think that sign was put there for a reason, or will it be a normal room? No traps?" Julie asked hopefully as they paused in front of it, flashlights aimed at the warning.

"Don't get your hopes up," Trowa replied, inspecting the lock.

Julie moved him over.

"Stand aside, the master lock picker is here to save the day," she said, removing a thin, stretched out paper clip from her hair.

"You had that the whole time?" Trowa said incredulously as she proceeded to deftly pick the lock.

She stood back up, smiling. "I always keep a spare handy, and the last place people would think of looking is my hair."

Trowa shook his head and gestured for her to enter. "I think you and Duo must have grown up together."

"Thanks you!" she said graciously, and swung open the door.

Darkness greeted their wary eyes and they stepped cautiously in.

"This is huge," Mayumi murmured, surveying the enormous empty room, her words echoing in the air.

They walked to the center of the room, their footsteps amplified to sound like they were pounding on the ground.

"This was way too easy," Trowa muttered as he spun in a quick circle, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Maybe this room wasn't completed. Or its an unused storage room," Mayumi suggested, sheathing her gun and running a hand through her hair. "Maybe we actually got lucky."

A low but powerful hum filled the room, vibrating the three people standing at the center of the room.

"I didn't do it!" Julie cried as the noise became deafening, drowning out all conversation. Mayumi drew her gun and made a wide circle.

"Nothing is happening!" she shouted above the roar of what sounded like a generator.

"Lets get out of here!" Trowa called back and ran for the metal door on the far side of the room. He could literally feel the rumble crushing him, closing in all on sides, and he knew nothing good could come of this.

He put out his hand to grab the doorknob, the girls not far behind, and heard a 'whoosh' to the right. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw an opening had appeared on the right wall, but couldn't see anything else because he was shoved to the side and slammed into the wall.

Mayumi and Julie watched as Trowa was blown to the side and crashed into the wall, unable to move. He was effectively pinned, his hair blown straight back and his arms and legs splayed, like he was ready to be operated on.

"I can't move!" he shouted, "Something's pinning me down!"

Julie went to move forward, intending to help him, but she was picked up and thrown, crashing into the wall a few feet from him.

Mayumi backed up quickly and saw the holes sliding open all along the wall, popping open every few seconds. She dove to the ground and covered her head as one slid open next to her. She felt a low breeze then a hurricane force blowing over her head and thundering towards the opposite wall.

She realized there must be incredibly strong fans blowing air across the room, so strong that they could pin a human to a wall.

Slowly she put her hand up to the tunnel of wind. One second she felt a light breeze, the next her hand was almost wrenched out of its socket as the wind blasted it. Flexing her hand, she pulled it back to her.

"Okay, think. What to do," she murmured to herself as she grabbed her hair to prevent it from being sucked into the wind tunnel.

Julie felt like she was going to suffocate.

"Trowa, I can't move!" she cried, her eyes forced shut or else the wind would dry them out in seconds. She knew that it was wind holding her on the wall, but she personally felt like a hundred ton weight was pressed against her chest.

"I cant breath!" she added and struggled to force her head to face Trowa.

Trowa in turn had managed to turn his head to the side and had opened his eyes slightly. He watched Mayumi dive to the floor and then stay there, unable to move. He knew that if they didn't get out of the blast soon, they would either suffocate or be crushed to death.

Mayumi carefully crawled across the floor until she could stand up in between two of the fans, even if she did have to fight to keep her balance. But it was a start. She made her way cautiously down to Julie until she was standing next to her.

"Julie!" she shouted, "I'm going to try and pull you out of there! Help me!" and she put her hand into the gale.

Immediately it was sucked against the wall and felt like it was being crushed. Using all her strength and willpower, she moved her hand inch by inch until it was against Julie's hand. Lifting it, she soon realized, was going to be a problem. It was impossible. She couldn't get enough strength to lift even her finger up.

With a cry of frustration, she pulled her arm out and crouched against the wall, taking another look around the room.

"There has to be something that stops it, something that controls it," she told herself, "There must be some master control in case someone gets caught in it by accident. And there is usually a master control in this sort of room anyway."

Her eyes swept the wall she was leaning against, the door, the door they came from, and then the fans.

Her eyes sharpened as she saw a small metal box on the inside of the fan directly across from Julie. Glancing down further, she saw there was one in the Trowa's fan as well.

"Gotcha!" she murmured, and scuttled across to the fan.

Her hair blew back and she had to squint when she stood up, but the control box was there. Just inside the left side of the fan, where the wind was most powerful.

Ducking under the wind, she came up on the left side and slid her hand into the opening. It came flying back at her and hit her in the face, almost knocking her into the wind of the next fan. She steeled herself and forced it in again, this time gritting her teeth and moving it forward. Slowly she made her way to the box and crawled up the side, her hand aching from the stress. She felt around for a button that was raised, expecting it would be the automatic stop button. When she found it, she slammed it down and her hand fell, released from the wind. At the same time Julie slid to the floor as the fan was turned off and died with final, plaintive 'whir'.

Not waiting to see if Julie was hurt, Mayumi ran over to the next fan and released Trowa. He fell to the ground with a thud and groaned.

Mayumi went to each and helped them up, noting they were not badly hurt.

"I feel like I've been run over with a steamroller," Julie muttered, coughing weakly and rubbing her chest. Trowa nodded, taking a few deep breaths.

"Time to go," Mayumi ordered, hoisting them both up and going to the door, the remaining fans still blowing air into the room.

Julie suddenly stiffened and began frantically feeling around her pants.

"The vial!" she cried, unbuttoning the pocket. She hesitated to put her hand in, afraid of possibly touching the agent.

She instead pulled the pocket open and peered in, frantically trying to see of the vial was intact, the other two looking on.

Then she sighed and reached in, pulling it out, not a scratch on it.

"They sure make these things indestructible," she smiled, holding it up in front of her. Suddenly it was ripped out of her hands and went spinning across the floor, towards the original door.

"What the?" she muttered, and then ducked as a metal disk shot over her head, many small spikes attached to the edges. It paused in the air, spinning in circles, seeming to evaluate them. Then it rushed them and Mayumi and Trowa dove to the ground and it passed them.

"Security System Number Two now activated," a female computer voice announced loudly, and they heard many 'zings' as metal disks appeared from the wall, all whirring towards them.

"Get down!" Julie shouted, following her own orders.

"We need that vial!" Trowa shouted and started crawling towards it.

"What do we need it for?" Julie yelled back, sprinting for the wall where Trowa's gun was laying.

"For proof!" he called, then ducked and rolled under a fan as a disk darted at him. Then it shot towards the wall and was smashed to pieces on contact, the spikes fanning out in all directions.

"Quick! We're safe under the fans!" Mayumi shouted, motioning for Julie to follow Trowa, who was almost at the vial.

Julie grabbed the gun, spun around on one knee, and fired at a disk heading for her. It exploded and she covered her face as small bits of it flew at her. Then she ran for the fans.

Mayumi rolled under one and stood up, watching two disks be sucked into the fan and crushed. Pleased, she rolled under a second fan. Then a disk shot at her, paused at the fan, and then ducked underneath it, coming back up and pausing again.

Her eyes widening in fear, Mayumi quickly rolled under a third and forth, the disk coming closer. She couldn't get a good shot because of the wind, and if she stayed still it would hit her.

She saw Julie aim for it and fire, but the bullet fell to the ground many feet away and a few feet ahead of the disk, the wind having blown it to the side.

Trowa rolled under the final fan and grabbed the vial, pulling out his gun at the same time.

Mayumi stopped and turned back. The disk was two fans away, Trowa one, and Julie three. She had to get the damned disk.

Running all the way to the left wall, she watched as it trailed her on the other side of the fan, matching her stride for stride. When she reached the wall it dove under and spun up, aimed directly at her face.

She didn't have time to shoot it; she had underestimated its speed. Without thinking, she held her gun up in front of her face and closed her eyes. She felt a jerk and her hand flew back, hitting the wall. The disk had impaled itself on her gun, the spikes still feebly whirring in place.

Smiling, she chucked the gun and rolled back to join Trowa and Julie by the exit door.

Julie grabbed the knob and flung the door open, thinking nothing could be worse than the room she was just in.

She was totally wrong.

"Oh no," she whispered, looking at the army in front of her and the rifles they were pointing directly at her. She immediately thought the other group had been captured or discovered and didn't want to think about what might have happened to Shiris.

"How…" Trowa murmured when he stepped in next to Julie and Mayumi, similar ideas flashing through his head.

"What happened to the other group?" Mayumi demanded when she was roughly grabbed and shoved forward towards the center of the large room, well-lit room.

"Please, allow me to explain," Sethin stood up from the chair he had been sitting and walked over.

"I'm sure you are all very confused. But let me assure you no words are necessary."

He made a quick motion with his hand and Damian stepped out of the crowd, grinning.

"You!" Mayumi shouted, unable to move from the shock. She had trusted him completely and he turned out to be an insider! She was absolutely furious. It wasn't often someone could deceive her as well as this man had.

"Where are the others?" Trowa asked him while mentally kicking himself for allowing Damian to go with the other group and split them up. He should have listened to his instincts and not trusted him, and now he was paying the price.

Julie was trying top hold it in, the one phrase she was dying to scream in Mayumi's face. She honestly tried her hardest, but it was too perfect to ignore.

"_I told you so!_" she shouted at her friend, glaring at her madly. "Maybe next time you'll listen to me! I am a trained spy and I have instincts! And so far, they have a better track record than yours!"

Mayumi's eyes flared up and she spoke through clenched teeth, "Julie, this is not the time to bring this up!"

The men began moving them forward, away from the door.

"But I was so right! You better pay more attention to me next time!" Julie exclaimed angrily and tried to move around in the man's grasp. It was starting to hurt her arms, he was gripping so tight.

"Julie! Shut up!" Mayumi shouted, eliciting a grin from Sethin. He leaned over closer to Damian. "This is more amusing than I could have imagined. You weren't exaggerating when you said they were ready to kill each other!"

Just then they came to the opposite wall where the other three captives were waiting patiently.

"Shiris!" Julie cried when she came into view, her face slightly blue from the rock fall and many rips in her shirt and skirt.

"Julie! Mayumi! Trowa!" Shiris exclaimed at the same time, the relief washing over her when she saw her friends unharmed, and she sagged slightly, smiling.

"Trowa, you okay man?" Duo asked when they came closer, and Trowa smiled slightly at him.

"As well as possible in this situation. I'm just glad you guys are okay. When we saw these hoards, we had no idea what was going on. We thought maybe…you know…"

Duo nodded. "Yeah, we thought the same about you a few times. But here we are!"

"Trowa, I'm glad you here," Hiiro said quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear him. He rarely showed affection in front of anyone, but in this case it was justified. Having his best friend back in one piece was a major event.

"Thanks Hiiro, good to see you to. And you, Shiris," he smiled at the girl, and her whole face lit up.

"I'm so glad your okay. I was so worried!"

"Duo, I would give you a big hug right now, but I'm kind of tied up, so just imagine I am!" Julie exclaimed happily, her smile taking over her whole face.

Duo closed his eyes and grinned. "When we get free, you owe me one!" he returned.

Mayumi, after greeting Shiris and Duo, turned her face to Hiiro.

"I'm glad your safe," she murmured, her eyes cast down on the floor. She wasn't sure she liked the feelings that had run through her when she caught sight of Hiiro, a burn from what looked like a cigarette on his face and a gash on his shoulder. She had wanted to kill Damian with her bare hands for what he had done to the man, and she was scared that she was actually starting to like him.

"Thanks, you too," Hiiro muttered back, his own eyes staring at her confusedly. Why was she looking at the floor? Did he look that bad? She didn't look like Miss Universe herself with all the cuts and scrapes she had on her. And her hand was bleeding badly from three marks along her palm. But he did admit she still looked pretty. Very pretty. Extremely pretty. And he should not be thinking that.

"I hate to break up this little reunion, but we do have to get going," Sethin apologized, stepping in between the two groups.

"We do have a schedule to keep."

"A schedule?" Julie asked, puzzled. Weren't they just going to kill them?

"Ah, that's right, you don't know about what comes after this. But I'm sure your friends can inform you as soon as we get to the chamber. This way," he said to the men holding the captives.

"Where are we going?" Trowa whispered to Shiris as they started to the right.

She bit her lip and looked down at the floor.

"They have a made a toxin," she began, but he interrupted.

"A toxin? Yeah, we found it."

"You did?"

"Yeah, we came to a research lab."

"It's called T-59," Shiris explained, "and, to make a long story short, they are going to use it to take over the world. But first they have to test it. On us."

His eyes opened wide. "On us?" he whispered, remembering the rats and the slides he had seen back in the lab.

"Yes. We have to get out of here."

"But how? Look at these guards!"

"I know, and I have no idea. But we better think fast."


	36. Out of ideas

They reached a door and went down another hallway and into a smaller room that contained a separate glass chamber big enough to fit 15 people. There were air vents leading into it from the ceiling and the door could only be opened from the outside.

"What are you doing?" Julie cried when they shoved her in first.

Soon all six were inside, rifles aimed at their chests.

"I would love to stay and watch, but I'm afraid I have to meet with the prime minister in a few hours."

"The prime minister?" Mayumi muttered, "Why would he want to do that?"

"I'll explain it later," Hiiro murmured to her, more focused on getting out at the moment.

"And," Sethin continued, "I have taken extra precautions just in case you do manage to escape from this sealed room. In exactly 15 minutes this whole base is going to explode."

"What?" Duo shouted.

"Yes, I'm afraid we need to destroy any evidence of the toxin. And you all know where the base is, so we need to get rid of it. You understand. But, don't worry, you won't be around to be blown to pieces if the toxin does it work. In five minutes you should be burned to a crisp."

"Burned to a crisp?" Shiris cried angrily, her eyes glaring into his.

He nodded. "I'm afraid so. But you all can explain to each what you have found out in the next," he looked at his watch, "five minutes and 9 seconds. After that, I don't think you'll be up for talking."

"You bastard!" Julie shouted and rushed forward as Sethin pressed a button on the side of the chamber and the door slid shut. She pounded on it and Damian could see her mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out.

"Sound proof to, otherwise it would be very annoying for others," Sethin explained, turning and leaving the room.

"Damian, I am going to leave now. Will you check the lab and make sure all the vials are there and accounted for? I would hate for one to be missing. The fire should take care of everything."

Damian nodded. "Is it destroyed by fire?" he asked, following him out the door.

"Yes, the fire causes it to literally explode on the inside. Odd, how it is killed by the very thing that it makes."

"Oh and sir?" Damian asked, "Can you tell me who was stationed on the second floor at the same time we were in the explosives room? I would really like to know…"

Hiiro watched as Damian walked out the door, his coat billowing behind him, and the rest of the guards hurried out.

Then he turned to the bedraggled and weary looking group and tried to think of a way out.

"T minus 15 minutes until base destruction, T minus five minutes until T-59 is released into chamber," a male voice blared into the airtight compartment, startling all the inhabitants.

"Great, thanks for telling us! We really wanted to know how long until we're burned to death!" Duo shouted and punched his fist angrily against the shatterproof glass. Then he turned around and slid down to the floor, cradling his shot leg.

Julie saw the bloodstain on his pants for the first time and knelt down next to him, her face frowning.

"You got shot?" she said when she carefully moved his pants up and gently touched the red wound.

"Yes," he hissed when she poked around more, "and it really hurts when you do that!" she rolled her eyes and tore off his right sleeve. He stared at her. "What did you do that for?"

"Because, silly, you need to bind this wound. Didn't you three learn first aid and all that?"

She wrapped the blue cloth around three times and then tied it off, pulling it tight with her teeth while Duo grimaced.

"There." She stood and helped him up.

"I don't think you really needed to do that," Hiiro commented, "If we're going to die in—"

"T minus 14 minutes until destruction of base, T minus four minutes until T-59 is released into chamber," the voice supplied helpfully.

"We know!" Shiris shouted, throwing her flashlight at the wall and stamping across the room to the other side.

"So, I guess no one has any bright ideas," Trowa muttered as he looked over the room.

Mayumi shrugged. "Nope. There are no windows to climb out of, no vents that are safe to climb through, and no doors to break down. All there is is the unbreakable door, the shatterproof walls, the toxin infected vents, and the cameras watching us to see what happens when the agent touches us. Nothing useful."

Duo glanced up. "Can we do anything with the cameras?"

No one spoke up. "I don't think so," Julie said and rubbed her face with her hand. "I think we actually are at the end."


	37. Things are heating up

Damian saw Sethin back to the original room and into the elevator that would take him up to the surface and to his waiting limousine.

"Good luck, and hurry. You don't want to be late," Sethin chuckled as the doors slid shut and Damian was left by himself in the bare room with only his lighter to keep him company.

Taking it out and flicking it, he made his way leisurely back to the research lab with four minutes until the agent was released into the chamber.

Humming to himself, he passed by the mumbling scientists lying bound on the floor and went over to the vials.

Flipping one into his other hand he proceeded to go through the three cases of vials, looking for any empty spaces. In his mind he went over the events of the last few hours, most of which had been very pleasing to him. He had managed to get the most renowned six spies in the world in one place and kidnap them all without a hitch. Well, except for the accidental grenade. But he would seek reimbursement for that. He almost regretted it was over. He wouldn't have minded spending a few more hours with such entertaining company, especially if they were all together. But he had a plane to catch and an evil plot to carry through with wonderful repercussions. And the background noise was getting very annoying.

"Shut up!" he yelled over his shoulder to the men on the floor when they began screaming at him to help them and wiggling over to him.

He reached the third case, first row, and second column when he saw the empty spot, the liquid bottle missing.

He whirled to the scientists, knelt down, and ripped off their gags.

"Did one of you take a vial?" he roared and took out his gun, putting it up to the quivering scientist's forehead.

"No!" he cried, covering his face and pleading with him.

"No, not us! The others! The ones who broke in and shot out the door! They left with the vial!" another of them said and pointed towards the door Damian had come through. "They left through there!"

Damian cursed, flung the vial across the room, and ran out the door. He knew that if they had the vial, they had a way out. And he had three minutes to get it from them.

"T minus three minutes until the T-59…" the voice announced.

Trowa sighed, Julie snarled, and Mayumi frowned.

Shiris sat down and crossed her arms over her legs and put her head on her arm. She hadn't thought she would die at such a young age, even if she was a spy. She had always known she might not meet a pleasant end, but not this early in the game, not when she had so many years ahead of her! She watched her friends all lose hope and eventually slump down, utterly defeated. The two-minute marker came and went.

Trowa leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped. His fingers touched something cold and thin and he pulled it out. The vial. He had forgotten all about it in the commotion.

"Hey, look, I forgot, we even got some of it to bring back to the base for proof," he muttered, holding it up and looking at the ebony liquid inside.

"Great, we can end our miserable lives early, just great," Duo mumbled, his face against the floor.

Shiris watched the black ink swirl and twist and tried not to imagine what it would feel like when it hit her. She supposed it would seem as though she was being roasted, almost like a chicken. And since it was supposed to burn through anything, her clothes wouldn't protect her. Nothing would, it was too strong.

Suddenly she blinked, looked at the vial, and then at the wall. "It's a long shot, but it might just work!" she rose up so fast Trowa jerked.

"Guys! I have an idea! Trowa, can I have the vial?" she asked, her eyes bright and calculating.

He held it out warily, his eyes trying to see if she had buckled under the stress, and she grabbed it and headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" Mayumi asked, joining her.

"Sethin said this stuff burns whatever it lands on, right?"

Mayumi nodded.

"So if I can get it to burn through the door, we have a way out of here!"

Mayumi looked askance at her and raised an eyebrow. "You do realize the numerous risks involved in that plan? Namely, it might kill all of us?"

"_T minus one minute thirty seconds until T-59 is released into chamber."_

Shiris smiled grimly. "We're gonna die anyway."

Mayumi sighed and then nodded, backing away.

"Everyone back up. I'm going to pour this on the door," Shiris ordered, ignoring the many protests that greeted her statement.

"Shiris, are you crazy? You could be burned!" Julie cried, backing away when Shiris unscrewed the top, leaving it sitting loosely.

She looked back at her comrades, her friends. They were all watching her fearfully, some even half closing their eyes, and she took a deep breath.

"Please let this work," she prayed.

Putting the vial up against the door, she tipped it slightly to the side with trembling fingers, then quickly replaced it and backed away. The instant she had moved it, a thin stream of black swirled up out of the vial and into the air. It immediately fell back down onto the door and began to smolder, thin wisps of smoke rising up.

"T minus one minute," 

"Hurry, hurry!" Shiris muttered to it fervently, urging it on.

"Its working!" Mayumi exclaimed when she saw a small hole with charred edges appear on the glass.

"It needs more," Shiris said, opening the vial again. This time she let out even more, and it quickly joined the original virus and began eating away at the indestructible door.

"Hurry, we have less than a minute," Hiiro urged and moved forward, ready to dart out the door the second the hole was big enough.

The gap began to widen quickly and Shiris backed up and screwed the lid tightly shut, most of the liquid still in the container.

Within seconds it was as big as her upper body and she kicked it, the rubber on her shoe giving off a bad smell when it began to burn. A huge chunk of glass fell off and she continued to kick it, making it wide enough to fit through.

"T minus thirty seconds," 

The vents around the room flipped open.

"Shiris! We have to go! Now!" Mayumi shouted, going up to her.

"Okay! It's wide enough, but its still eating away at it, so don't touch the edges of the hole. Come on!" she stepped though, ducking her head to prevent her hair from getting singed. Mayumi quickly followed, then Hiiro, then Trowa. Before Duo left, he gave a peace sign to the camera and grinned.

"We got you, losers!" he shouted and left the chamber. Julie blew a kiss at the camera, exclaimed "kiss my ass!" and ducked out, all six racing for the door.

"T minus twenty seconds" 

A hiss of air began to filter through the vents; air that would soon be loaded with the virus.

"Go, go, and go! We're still vulnerable if we don't get out of this room soon!" Trowa urged as Shiris threw open the door.

Damian, his eyes wild and angry and trench coat swirling, greeted their stunned eyes.

Shiris put her hands on the doorframe to prevent herself from crashing into him, raised her eyes to look into his, and instantly knew who he was.


	38. Memories

A split second memory flashed across Shiris' eyes that seemed to take an hour. She could see it all like it was happening right in front of her all over again. The day she left her father's house, the day it had blown up, killing all inside of it. Except her.

She had been about to leave, her bags already packed and in the waiting car, and she was heading down the grand staircase. Her father was in his room and had no idea she was to be joining the Alliance. But the Federation knew. And the Federation thought her father was now a liability, since his daughter was a leading member of the Alliance. And they were not going to stand by and let it happen. Oh no, they were going to destroy him and his daughter before anything could happen that could jeopardize the organization.

Shiris was going to leave out the back exit, so no maids or butlers would see her departure and tell her father. Going to the laundry room door she had been whistling and almost skipping in her relief to be doing something to stop her father's madness.

Then the explosion happened.

It came from upstairs, in her father's bedroom, but it did not stop there.

She was thrown to the ground by the first blast and then pitched forward by the second, closer one and crashed through the window and onto the grass of the backyard.

Frantically she heaved herself up and stared at the flame engulfed house, hearing the cries of her father from his bathroom. He hadn't been in his room and so hadn't died immediately.

"Daddy!" she screamed and raced back into the house, her hands in front of her and her eyes closed against the smoke. Flames licked at her skin as she made her way thought the kitchen to the living room. Her goal was the stairs and then her father, and she fought with all her might to reach the stairway.

Finally she made it and collapsed on the rug, under the smoke and away from the worst of the flames.

It was there that she had seen him, the one man who had caused all this, the man who was standing on the last stair directly in front of her.

Blinking, she crawled to her knees and peered at him, unsure of who he was at first.

He looked about 17 and tall, his hand on the burning railing. He was staring at her, his eyes glaring and menacing. The trench coat snapped around his slight frame, and she could see striking blonde hair reaching to his ears. She almost reached out a hand for help until she saw the smile on his face and the lighter in his hand.

He was flicking it open, shut, open, shut, open, shut. As she stared at him, her anger rose up within her. He was just standing there, flicking the damned lighter, as though he had no idea he had just killed a man.

Screaming, she threw herself at him and she and the surprised boy collided and rolled down the stairs, she clawing at his hair and face and he trying to shove her off.

"You! You did it!" she shrieked, gripping his throat and staring into his eyes. They were gray and misty, swirls of nothing, and they frightened her.

He put his hands on her stomach and shoved her off and into the stairs.

"I'm surprised your still alive," the boy muttered, wiping his split lip, "and am sorry, but I do have to kill you. I apologize now." He flicked open the lighter, the mad smile coming back to his lips.

Growling, she stood up and balled her fists.

Suddenly she heard shouts and looked towards the kitchen. When she looked back, the boy was gone and Jane was in front of her, gripping her arms and pulling her forward. Feeling the strong arms around her, her strength gave out. Shiris coughed weakly and let Jane carry her out of the burning house, barely missing being crushed as the second floor gave way.

Shiris looked over Jane's shoulder at her old house, one that she would never see again. And she thought of the boy, the one who had done all this. And she made a secret vow to herself that she would use her newfound abilities to get her revenge.


	39. Up and out

"You!" the older Shiris screamed, "you were the one! You were the boy who killed my father! You, Damian, are the man that I vowed to kill!"

She stared up into his eyes, unable to move because of her anger and amazement, and knew from his eyes that he now knew her as well.

"You were the girl, the one I never killed," he murmured in a fantastical voice, "Why didn't I see it before? Why—"

Shiris launched herself at him and they tumbled into the hallway, the other five watching as she punched him in the face.

"T minus ten seconds," 

"Hey, lets take care of this later, okay?" Duo cried as he saw a blackish mist begin to seep into the chamber.

Shiris leaned down over the stunned Damian's face and took out the vial.

"This is a long time overdue," she hissed, and poured it onto his face.

He screamed and brushed madly at his cheek only to have it spread to his hands, and he screamed even louder. He frantically felt around on the ground for his lighter, remembering what Sethin had said about its weakness. Shiris started laughing deep in her throat at his pain, wishing she could have burned him to death in a house.

The mist was spreading quickly through the chamber and was almost at the hole.

Trowa slammed the door shut, grabbed Shiris around the waist, and lifted her off Damian.

"No! Let me go! I have to kill him!" she shouted, lunging towards the kicking man.

"T-59 now released into chamber," 

"No, we have to leave. He'll be killed, don't worry, especially after what you did to him," he said as they turned the corner and Damian disappeared out of sight.

Shiris couldn't believe she had finally found him and killed him. She would have liked to watch for a little longer, but now that her mind had shifted gears, she did want to get out of there alive.

"You can put me down," she said slowly to Trowa.

"Are you sure you wont run back there and try to finish him off?" he asked, but put her down.

They had reached the large room that they had met Sethin in.

"How do we get out?" Julie cried as the computer announced they had nine minute until the base blew.

"I have no idea. It's too much of a hike to go back to where we started from, so Sethin must have another exit somewhere. Check all the other doors," Hiiro ordered, moving to the one nearest him. Duo went to one across from him and found it was an elevator.

"Come on, I got it! Hurry!" he shouted and pressed the up button. Nothing happened. The little light didn't light up; nothing made a noise.

"Oh no, he didn't!" Trowa exclaimed.

"I think he did," Hiiro muttered when the elevator didn't arrive.

Sethin must have dismantled it.

"But what about Damian? Wasn't he supposed to join him?" Duo asked confusedly, remembering the conversation they had heard before the door had been sealed.

"There must be another way out!" Julie said and started scanning the room.

"We don't have time," Hiiro said when the computer reminded them another minute had passed. "We need to get out using this elevator shaft."

"You mean climb up it?" Julie asked, realizing the answer when Hiiro tried to open the two doors.

Duo and Trowa joined him and between the three of them they managed to force the doors open and reveal a gaping black hole with a few cables trailing upwards.

Hiiro peered up and saw the elevator a few floors up.

"There's a grate on the bottom of the elevator and we can use the cables to climb up," he said and leaned over and gripped a thick cable.

"Hiiro, be careful!" Mayumi cried when he lost his footing and swung into the chasm, hanging only by one hand. He quickly gripped it tightly with two and began to hoist himself up.

Mayumi followed him and swiftly started pulling herself up. The shaft was very dark and reeked of oil, and occasionally she would hit a slippery spot on the cable.

From inside the shaft they could faintly hear the computer again.

"We have seven minutes, Hiiro, moved your butt!" Duo called up just as Hiiro punched in the grate and lifted himself into the elevator.

After helping Mayumi up, he pressed the DOOR OPEN button. With a 'ping', the doors slid open and he saw they were in a totally new section of the base, one they had never seen before. Luckily, they only had one way to go.

Without bothering to see if everyone had made it, he ran to the door to the left and found a corridor leading to another elevator, one that hopefully worked.

Duo was the last one out and he immediately followed everyone else to the second elevator, hopefully one that would take them all the way up to the street.

Hiiro pressed the button and sighed quietly when he heard the elevator grind down, sounding like music to his ears.

"_T minus three minutes," _

"Come on," Trowa murmured, shifting from one foot to the other.

Finally it opened and they piled in and pressed the button marked 1.

With a whir it propelled them up 35 floors and Julie popped her ears. Everyone was standing perfectly still, not daring to say anything least the elevator stop. Even Duo was quiet, a trickle of sweat on his forehead. Everyone could hear the ticking of the clock in their minds, knowing it was counting down to what could be their death if they didn't get out in five minutes.

Then they bounced to a stop and it opened into the lobby of the building, the security guard no longer present.

Without a thought they sprinted down the hallway and burst through the doors into the open sunlight, the light blinding them.


End file.
